Save Money at the Supermarket

Posted on April 4, 2008 by Sam

Have you ever looked at how much money you spend each week at the supermarket? It’s hundreds of dollars each month and adds up to alot over the year. I think I’ll stop eating, that will solve it. Who’s with me?

I know I need to eat and it can be less expensive in the long run to cook my own food, rather than going to a restaurant. So if you must buy at the supermarket, buy smart! Just an example of one item that we like to eat is Kashi Go Lean Cereal. Each box is 14.1 ounces, has 13 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber and only 1 gram of fat (or as they say “1g of lowfat”).

Kashi Go Lean

I like the cereal and decided to do a price comparison between different places selling the cereal. I looked at Target, Lowes Foods and Bloom (Food Lion offshoot). I could have also included Harris Teeter, BiLo and a few more in the area (Charlotte, NC). The results are:

Target– $3.34 per box

Lowes– $3.69 per box

Bloom– $3.71 per box

The clear winner is Target that is 35 to 37 cents lower than the other two. Is this a good metric to decide all of my food buying? I would say not. This Target is farther away than the other supermarkets, so there is a gas cost. (Soon I’ll have a Super Target near me 🙂 )

Here’s my plan and homework-

  1. I am putting all of my food receipts on top of my microwave for a month.
  2. Then I will determine the top 20-30 items my family buys during the month. Milk, orange juice, eggs, cereals, pasta, etc.
  3. I will do a total price comparison with this frequently bought list to figure out where to but our groceries. In it I will include mileage to determine that cost.
  4. I’ll post the results here. If there is enough interest I’ll create a spreadsheet to help you save money on your grocery shopping.

Supermarket Savings,
Sam Carrara

Disclaimer: I was not paid to promote this cereal or any of the companies listed, nor do I earn any affiliate commissions off this post.

Posted in Finances | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

My Six Figure Affiliate Check

Posted on April 1, 2008 by Sam

I wanted to show you my six-figure affiliate income check from last month, but the following things prevented me from doing this:

  • I forgot to pickup the mail
  • My dog ate it (I don’t have a dog)
  • My scanner isn’t working
  • I can no longer upload pictures
  • It’s a special day in April, being the 1st

Although I have not received this check yet… I plan to. I am taking action and working on multiple methods of traffic and improving my marketing to reach that point. That check and others will be mine by this time next year, without any April Fools jokes.

I’ll reveal a few of the methods I’ll use to accomplish this:

  1. Articles- Many sites want new content and will take your articles to build up their website size. In the last paragraph of your article your have a resource box that talks a little about you and a link to get more information on the topic. The link will point to a lead generation page, an affiliate offer or one of many other methods in the arsenal.
  2. Audios- Just take the article and speak the words into a microphone. Add a little editing and maybe some music and you have a podcast.
  3. Video- Take the audio and add pictures and upload it to your favorite video site (YouTube, Myspace, Google, etc.).
  4. Blogs- Place this information on blogs and tweak it slightly to not run into duplicate content (even though this is a myth or urban legend).
  5. There’s more, stay tuned as I unleash those methods in more details.

I’m using the above procedures for building up traffic to one niche I’m working on right now. I’m also realizing that the first time I do this it takes a little longer to do, each subsequent time is quicker because I have templates and procedures in place. More for later…

Have you figured out what the new plugin is yet that I’m testing? Look at this and the previous two posts, it might help you comment below.

Happy April Fools Day,
Sam Carrara

Posted in Marketing | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Remember to File Taxes

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Sam

It’s that time of year again to file for taxes, at least in the United States. Have you filed yet? The deadline is April 15th, unless you file for an extension. The date is coming very soon.

You have a few ways to file:

  1. Use the IRS Free File service at: (http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html) This applies if your adjusted gross income was $54,000 or less in 2007.
  2. Use H&R Block (http://www.hrblock.com/ – not an affiliate link) both in person at an office or by using one of their software packages. Can be limited due to the software might not include all of the special deductions you may want to take.
  3. Use a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) to prepare your return. They are more knowledgeable than someone that does taxes a few months out of the year and only had a four hour training class.
  4. There are other ways to file including a paper return done yourself, Liberty Tax Service, Jackson Hewitt and a myriad of online websites.

Why file? When Jesus was asked if it is right to pay taxes, he said “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Give to God what is God’s.” And because the taxes help pay for:

  • The roads you drive on
  • Police and law enforcement (to include the judicial system).
  • Firefighters and medics
  • Recreation areas and national parks
  • Military– even if you don’t agree with everything they are ordered to do.
  • And a lot of other services- I don’t agree with them all either, but I vote to try and have my voice heard. You should vote too.

Remember to include all your methods of income:

  • W2s from jobs you worked
  • 1099s or K1s from being an independent contractor or any business entities (affiliate income included)
  • Interest income on savings and checking accounts
  • Any other income- Ebay, etc.

List of common deductions:

  • Charity– Church, Boy Scouts, Red Cross and all the other tax deductible organizations that you donated to during the year. I don’t give to the charities to get a tax deduction; I do it because it’s right. Some people would say it is socially responsible.
  • Education– Right from the IRS webpage at: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc605.html “There are two education tax credits available, the Hope Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit. The credits are based on education expenses paid for you, your spouse, or your dependents. During any particular year, you can claim only one of the credits for each student.”
  • House Interest– Most of the money you pay each month to the mortgage company is going toward interest, not principal. Get this big deduction; just make sure you have the statement showing how much the interest was for the year from them.
  • Medical costs– This only affects you if it becomes over 7.5% of your income. (http://www.irs.gov/publications/p502/ar02.html#d0e294) Otherwise it is smart to use a healthcare savings account during the year if your employer has one.
  • There’s a lot more, some will apply and others won’t.

For more information visit the IRS website at:
http://www.irs.gov/index.html

In Spanish or Español:
http://www.irs.gov/espanol/index.html

Taxes Due Soon,
Sam Carrara

Disclaimer: I do not work for the IRS, so refer to their website for rules and regulations. I wanted to post the above information to help people be more knowledgeable about options available. I don’t recommend or dis-recommend any of the services above due to not having recent experiences with them (I prefer to use a CPA).

Posted in Finances | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Plugin Testing

Posted on March 24, 2008 by Sam

I’m testing a plugin that I recently had made. How do you increase comments in your blog?

Do you know who posted the first comment below? I’ll give you more information when I have completed testing.

Stay tuned, because I’ll be giving it out for free soon.

Plugin Testing,
Sam Carrara

Posted in Marketing | Tagged | 2 Comments

Barbie- Island Princess

Posted on March 19, 2008 by Sam

I can’t believe I have anything Barbie in my house. Both my wife and I refused to allow anything with that name into the house. Then little by little they crept in as gifts from friends and family.

First it was a doll or two; they sneak it in by giving Disney Barbie dolls of Belle, Cinderella and the like. Next it was a VW bug Barbie car and a dog (Tanner) that “poops.” Well the poop was thrown away, even if she had a trash can for it.

The new animation of Barbie videos is great. But animation isn’t everything, you also need a good story line. My wife, kids and I found a Barbie video that is addictive– Barbie as The Island Princess.

Barbie as The Island Princess DVD

It’s about a girl named Ro that as a child fell off a ship and lived with animal friends on an island in the South Seas. Her friends- Sagi, Tika and Azul helped raise her and travel to civilization with her when a handsome Prince Antonio happens by the Island in search of adventure.

Barbie Island Princess and Prince Antonio

Of course they fall in love, but the Prince is betrothed (what a large word) to another girl. His Father (who looks like the Burger King) says she has to marry a princess. I don’t want to spoil the best parts so you have to see it for yourself.

We also purchased the Island Princess CD and can’t get the songs out of our heads. It’s good clean fun, and catchy tunes for the family. One song about rats working to earn cheese is hilarious. I can’t get the words, “Oh can you taste it” out of my head.

Island Princess Fun,
Sam Carrara

Posted in Marketing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments