buying groceries online/home delivery????
Annegriet
7 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (15)
maifleur01
7 years agoc t
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Buying house 'parts' online to save...? Recommended sites?
Comments (21)LightingUniverse.com and BuildersDepot.com have been a complete nightmare for me! I ordered lighting from lighting universe and it arrived with parts missing - it obviously was a return as I actually found the nasty note the lady who recieved it before enclosed when she sent it back. I called customer service and they were very nice and said they would send the missing parts. A month and several phone and emails later and I still do not have the parts. I am now in contact with American Express (card I used to purchase with) and they are disputing the charge and getting my money refunded. I also ordered a light from Builders Depot - it was packaged VERY poorly and arrived damaged but my husband fixed it because it was not worth the hassle and expense to ship it back. I did get some beautiful lighting from Pottery Barn and it arrived perfectly and their customer service is top notch - but you will not get any bargains here. I ended up going to my local lighting store and ordering Golden Lighting - I mentioned the prices on the internet and they beat them all and threw in free light bulbs! I couldn't be more pleased. Might as well start at your local lighting store and give them a chance to match or beat prices - it can't hurt to ask! Your local stores are hurting right now and making some fantastic deals - not to mention not having to worry about returning stuff you bought online....See MoreHow to compare grocery prices online
Comments (3)If I had to make a spread sheet on the computer for what I keep in my Price Book, I'd go nuts!!! Maybe that's because I started using the system before I had a computer.... (Old dog, new trick - LOL), or the fact I never have my computer with me when I shop to check the stats, but I always have my Price Book. I make notes or changes when I get the sales ads (in the free weekly paper or by checking on-line - I can't justify the cost of the local paper - even for the coupons) or I'll make changes when I'm at the store and notice them. When oatmeal increased from $2.19 to $2.29 for 42-oz. at Aldi (who are always the least expensive), I quickly noted the increase. It's also convenient because most stores have the unit cost printed on the prices posted on the shelves, so I don't have to do the math. Unit pricing is VERY important. Some things fluctuate all the time - butter, sugar, flour, eggs, etc., and you need to track those almost weekly. Some items I rarely have to change. Things I don't change, but I might add a note to recall the price, are Manager's Specials, close-outs, and the clearance shelf "treasures", but you have to have a keen shopping eye to spot all of these. It's rare that I pay full price for anything, and that's yet one more way to save on the grocery bill. The first way I save is to have a budget - in cash. Mine is $125 per month for 2 adults, and it's for food ONLY. Non-food items come out of my "walking around" money, which is another set amount. I also keep my on-going grocery list in my Price Book. I may not need something at the time, but I'll put it on-the-look-out-for list if I know my stockpile is running low so I can try to find it at a bargain price. An advantage of having my price book with an inventory in it, when I find a bargain and can't remember if I already have some/enough at home, I can check my Price Book inventory sheets. No sense blowing money on something I already have in storage and really don't need. Everything is on sale sooner or later.... Free information for the budget minded: Egg economy: There is a small difference in the volume between medium and large eggs, so always check the price of medium eggs. If the price difference is less than 5-cents per dozen, then buy large eggs. If 5-cents or greater difference, buy the medium eggs. It takes 5 medium eggs to = 4 large eggs, and in most recipes, or for general use, you won't notice a significant difference. --------------------- I try never to spend more than $2 per pound for boneless meat and $1 or less per pound for bone-in. No matter how much meat is per pound, I don't spend more than $10 per week for meat, and some weeks I don't purchase any but will save back that amount until I can find a bargain. Have you figured the cost of canned tuna per pound? It's not always a bargain. A 5-oz. can of tuna at $1.19 = $3.81 per pound. You can often buy better cuts of meat or poultry cheaper than what it costs for a can of tuna. Good luck finding a method that works for you. :-) -Grainlady...See Moreon-line groceries
Comments (12)I've never used a delivery service -- thankfully haven't needed to. But I did just look at the web page of a locally owned grocery store that advertises delivery service. They have a $30 minimum order, plus $6.95 to take it to you. (I didn't look at the delivery area, probably it's within a certain mile radius?) You have to choose a two-hour window to receive the delivery, and a responsible party has to be there to accept it or they take it back and there's a $20 restocking fee. There's other fine print about final cost may differ due to substitutions, etc. So, my advice -- take it easy, take advantage of it, but see if you can find your store on line and read the fine print. Hope your recovery goes well :-)...See Morebest site for buying house plans online?
Comments (26)If you like Southern Living type homes, why has SL not been your first choice for looking at possible plans? Several of them are designed by well known architects and are quite good for mill plans. Many of the architects of those plans offer revisions to meet local codes for a standard fee. Changing them to meet your local topography of the lot itself is quite a bit trickier. Mill plans from every source are almost universally assuming that you will be building on a dead flat lot, and that the front of the house faces north. If the lot faces west and has a steep slope from front to back, you will have a very difficult time finding something among existing plans that can deal with that challenge. What happens when you try to make a plan designed for one situation fit another? Lots more money to excavate or to have fill dirt brought in is one thing that happens. That can be a very large budget buster. Especially if the lot is rocky, in a seismic zone, or has access Issues. Then there is the added concrete for the taller foundation that is needed, and the stone or brick cladding for that additional exposed foundation. Now you have to figure out how to get people access to a back yard that’s 13’ down from the kitchen. That means some type of deck with stairs. All of that from a house designed for a flat lot being placed on a slope. What about that Western sun beating into the front of the house? Thst means more overhang to help with that, and better windows too. That still won’t help at 6:00 pm in the summer. If you have the formal living and dining rooms facing the street, that may not bother you as badly as if your master bedroom faces the street, and you have a shift worker who needs to catch some sleep before being due in at 11. But there won’t be any dinner gatherings in the summer in your dining room. It all be too hot and glaring. So that means maybe you go more casual. It’s summer, after all. Now that bare minimum deck that you put on the house just to have back yard access isn’t going to be big enough for your Labor Day party. And those mosquitos aren’t helping things either. How you arrive to a home, bring your groceries in, and go out into the yard matters. Where and how your family gathers to eat and socialize together matters. Being able to stay up late with the kids for old movies in the summer and not disturb the person who has to be at work at 6:00 am matters. There are no unimportant parts. There are no unimportant details if those details force you into adapting with a negative behavior pattern that you would not otherwise have. The best houses seem effortless and “right”. Because they fit you. You’re not giving up family Sunday dinners in the dining room because it’s too hot and too glaring to occupy at dinner time. You’re not giving up a quick after work barbecue meal because it’s two flights of stairs down to the ground where it’s actually safe to put the barbecue fire rather than put the grill on the deck. Generic houses that get placed on lots often have these kinds of issues. The expenses associated with you adapting to the house’s demand to need a flat lot can often pay a good deal of an architect’s fee to create something that actually fits the property and your family. Keep looking at plans and noting what you like about each. Start to develop a library of ideas that you would like to have. Keep it simple. Don’t be blinded by the “cool hidden door pantry” that costs 6K when you could be wanting an east facing breakfast room with lots of windows to start off your day with the family. Home features impact behavior. But also look at the homes that local architects are producing. Houzz is a good place to look for that. So are Facebook groups too. Talk to a few architects. See if anyone gets what you mean by your collection of ideas. A free initial meeting to see what their process is, and how that might work for you, and to look at some of their past projects that might echo your wants is a good educational field trip. Think of it as exactly that: an educational field trip, just like junior high. Instead of going to the space center to learn about rocketry developments, you’re learning about what it might be like to have a home built for you. Do the same thing with builders. Look at their projects. Have a 15 minute meeting with them to see if they are someone you want to have a year long relationship with. It’s like speed dating. You don’t want to waste their time, and they don’t want to waste yours. But you both need to see if you are compatible as the very first step. At the end of the discovery process, you should have 3-4 plans that you like a lot, and 2/3 architects, and 2/3 builders. Then it’s time to decide what approach you want to consider. Just go into it with an open mind, learning as much as you can from everyone you encounter. Your decision might not be what someone else would choose. But you will have researched enough, and from enough different sources, that you won’t feel like you’re going into your build completely blind about how the processes work....See Moremaifleur01
7 years agocacocobird
7 years agoakarinz
7 years agojosephene_gw
7 years agocacocobird
7 years agojrb451
7 years agomaifleur01
7 years agodm_internazionale
6 years agoLaurie Schrader
6 years agojoyfulguy
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoc t
4 years agobry911
4 years ago
Related Stories
EXTERIORSSpecial Delivery: Keeping Your Packages Safe
Online sales are up, and so is the number of boxes delivered to homes. Here’s how to keep them beyond the grasp of porch pirates
Full StoryMOVINGHome-Buying Checklist: 20 Things to Consider Beyond the Inspection
Quality of life is just as important as construction quality. Learn what to look for at open houses to ensure comfort in your new home
Full StoryFEEL-GOOD HOMESimple Pleasures: 10 Ideas for a Buy-Less Month
Save money without feeling pinched by taking advantage of free resources and your own ingenuity
Full StoryIt's Cold. We're Cranky. Buy Some Flowers!
15 Colorful Reminders That Spring Will Come Again
Full StoryHOME TECHHarness the Cloud: 8 Ways to Automate Your Housekeeping
Make life easier by scheduling regular deliveries, managing appliances, simplifying meal planning and more via the web
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESMake Sure You Read This Before Buying New Plants
Follow these 10 plant-selection tips to avoid buyer’s remorse
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDESA Beginner's Mini Guide to Buying Antiques
Experience the thrill of the hunt without ignorance ruining the spoils, with this guide to antiquing for novice buyers
Full StoryFURNITURESmart Shopper: How to Buy a Mattress
Confusing options, hair-raising prices, haggling ... Our guide can keep you from losing sleep over mattress shopping
Full StoryMOST POPULARMy Houzz: Hip Midcentury Style for a Mom's Backyard Cottage
This 1-bedroom suite has everything a Texas mother and grandmother needs — including the best wake-up system money can't buy
Full StoryFUN HOUZZDon’t Be a Stickybeak — and Other Home-Related Lingo From Abroad
Need to hire a contractor or buy a certain piece of furniture in the U.K. or Australia? Keep this guide at hand
Full StorySponsored
More Discussions
bry911