Parrot on a PorchA Journey Toward the Little Mansion Dream

It’s exactly 100..make that 99 days  (it’s past midnight already) before Christmas!  It’s my most favorite time of the year and there is no better way to begin the countdown than online shopping, right?  I am revved up for the Black Friday shopping mania on November but that will be intended for Little Mansion items and also, since sea freight takes approximately a month a half during the peak season, I opted to shop clothes for Asher, Paul and me as early as now to arrive just in time for the Holidays or even earlier.  I bought a few graphic tees and a pair of shoes for the little one, dresses for me and a polo shirt and cashmere sweaters for the husband.  Through the kindness of a friend, these items will be ordered on my behalf today and will be sent via sea freight as soon as her balikbayan box gets filled up.  No definite arrival date yet but I’m just so excited to start the Holidays ahead by shopping Christmas gifts for my boys this early.

I stopped wearing a watch when my son was born for the fear of carelessly hurting or scratching him with it during cradle time.  Besides, I was just confined at home where there are clocks everywhere to see the time.  And because of that, my watch broke down as it was just kept at the farthest end of my drawer for a long time.  Even when the battery is replaced, it won’t just work.  This is the reason why I’m in the lookout for a new watch.  It’s impossible that I’ll have IWC Watches soon because, well, I simply cannot afford it.  I saw how elegant and exquisite the luxurious watches are over at Lussori and they’re really worth drooling over.  By the way, I’m also impressed how vast the collections of luxury timepieces and jewelries are at Lussori.  How I wish I have the thousands of dollars to spend even on just one timepiece. 

Every homes not just offices and businesses, need to have office supplies on hand all the time. Since computers and laptops have also been a household necessity now, there’s a periodic need for stationery like office paper and office supply like pens, data storage discs, packaging supplies. There are also times when we need markers and pens for labeling items, gifts to wrap, documents to staple and compile and so on. We often source all these from local bookstores and super stores but nowadays, these can be easily procured through an office supply store like the Clean Sweep Supply. It is an online retail shop that offers over 32,000 products of well known office supply brands. Wide selection of binders and binding supplies, cash and check handling supplies, filing supplies, office equipment supplies, pens and desk supplies can be readily ordered from this site through their user-friendly shopping interface. For the homes, there are also janitorial and maintenance supplies that are available for ordering even in bulk. Examples are light bulbs, toiletries, cleaning supplies, flashlights, gloves, vacuum cleaners, etc. One can easily search the catalog through the search field or one can also narrow down categories of the products by opting to browse by brand and price. These online stores offer free shipping deals and rebates so shopping online may indeed be a splendid way of procuring office supplies for the home.

Shopping furniture and appliances for a newly acquired house is extremely exciting and fun.  I absolutely agree and this comes from a personal experience.  What’s not is when one start to witness that his earnings from the last payday gets drained in an instant, or seeing how huge the damage was to the savings account or when credit card bills start pouring in.  Acquiring a home does not actually start and stop at the contract signing.  It goes a long way from there.  Sprucing up the home with furniture, appliances and other stuff are just actually the peak or climax if there’s a stage that’s being observed.  In our case, that’s when our pockets were heavily used.  Thankfully there are various services and products that can help one go through all this with much financial support.  I’m talking about the wonders of credit cards, a cash advance, payday loans and all other financing facilities.  We all know already how credit cards work and how do they work to one’s advantage.  On the other hand, a cash advance, is a fresh scheme of payday loan wherein an employed person can borrow money with his paycheck as his collateral.  The requirements are less formal and the borrowed amount easy to obtain.

Now shopping for furniture can indeed be exciting especially if it’s a new home dress up.  I’m sharing a few pointers I perused before we bought modern furniture pieces for our Little Mansion.

1.  The Budget.  Unlike clothes that one can easily scout, try it on and buy, it is best if one visit a number of shops, canvass and ask a catalog with their prices.  In short, window shopping first is very beneficial to be able to compare prices and study which among them have the cheapest yet quality offering.

2.  If budget allows, contact a stylist or a designer and ask for opinions from the experts.  They can suggest and guide the proper pieces, the color, the size, the make and all other things to choose.

3.  Think of the future. Never rush when buying an item for the house especially if it’s the big ticket items.  Remember that this will be used for a long time and they’re something that can’t be instantly replaceable just like we can easily do with our clothes.

Owning a home and raising a family, while very rewarding, can be quite expensive. If you are a typical home owner, you search for all possible discounts to help cut back on household costs. Here are a few top ways you can begin spending less and saving more.

Find Internet Deals
Most people now pay for Internet access in their homes. While this access is very convenient, the cost through some providers can be quite expensive. Therefore, to cut back on Internet access costs, be sure to shop around for broadband deals before selecting a provider. These ways, you are sure to find a good deal and will have more money left over after each month’s bill is paid.

Reduce Energy Consumption
Many home owners don’t realize how much energy their family consumes each month. This energy consumption results in high utility bills and less extra money for you to enjoy. You can easily start cutting back on utility costs by establishing energy consumption household rules. These rules could be anything from shutting off lights when leaving a room to taking shorter showers – whatever you think will help reduce the utility bill.

Use Coupons
As your family grows, you will have to buy more household products each month just to meet everyone’s needs. The cost of these items such as toilet paper and light bulbs, can add up quickly so use coupons whenever possible. Coupons are now easily accessible online so you shouldn’t have difficulties finding them to save on commonly used products. Even just $1 saved per product can begin adding up quickly.

Hopefully these tips will be useful in helping you save more each month on your household costs. The saved money can then be used to pay off other bills or to take that family vacation you have been putting off.