Using Time Wisely

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The Choice of Quality (Part 2 of 2)

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Jeremy Atkinson)

When I wrote Part 1 of this 2-part series, I expressed my confidence in the quality choices Paul and I made when choosing the upgrades to our home. From the mud sink to the carpet upgrade, I never doubted our quality decisions. In fact, the choices made years ago continue to influence the choices I make today.

The Extension of the Choice

Though I stretch every dollar and pinch every penny, I will choose a quality product over an inexpensive brand that will soon need to be replaced. This choice has benefited our family well in the following two situations:

Our Family Vehicle. Our decision to purchase a brand new vehicle rather than a used vehicle has alleviated much time, concern, and frustration. When Paul and I were dating we agreed that I would not ask him to fix the car, and he would not ask me to sew. Both of us understood our limitations, and we have abided by them for the past 12 years. 🙂

Our vehicle is maintained by our trustworthy mechanic, and we do not negotiate on quality. If there is a problem, we do not want a patch that will need to be addressed again. We want a fix which sometimes comes to the tune of $600.

In these situations, I am thankful that we have saved in other areas to keep our vehicles in top notch shape. This choice to invest in our vehicles continues to save money (patching problems), energy (frustration), and time (waiting for parts and repair). (You can click here to read more about the savings on our tires.)

School Clothing. With a growing boy and the wear and tear of running around and playing ball, I have chosen to purchase name brand clothing. Keeping to the standards of our school uniform code, I have quite a few combinations with of a number of styles. Having tried both the Land’s End and IZOD brands, I prefer the IZOD clothing line due to its durability, fit, and comfort. Last year, I purchased the majority of his clothing at the beginning of the year, and they lasted all year. None of the items were faded, snagged, or ripped.

In preparing for the upcoming school year, I waited for a great sale at J. C. Penney (my preferred supplier). With the back-to-school sales in full swing, I was able to purchase 2 items under $25 last week using Ebates and a promotional code. Though that code has expired, J. C. Penney has released a new promotional code: BOOKBAG, which is valid from Wednesday to Saturday, August 3 -6, 2011. I will be purchasing more clothing for my growing boy on Friday during our tax-free weekend.

Purchasing quality items, like a vehicle and school clothing, have been worth my money, energy, and time. Waiting and combining sales with a promotional code has been the key to purchasing quality items without paying full price.

As you make choices in what you purchase, consider the quality as well as the price. Be patient, and wait for a great sale. In doing so, you can snag a great quality product while saving money, energy, and time.

Question: Would you consider purchasing a brand new vehicle? Why or why not? 

The Choice of Quality (Part 1 of 2)

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Nutmeg)

As I drove through my subdivision on trash day, I noticed that two more homes had piles of carpet at the curb. Since the summer began, there have been at least 3 other homes that have replaced or substituted the carpeting in their homes. Though some of them may have chosen another flooring choice, e.g. hardwood, tile, etc., some are replacing the original carpet because it is threadbare.

Making the Choices

Looking back at the choices Paul and I made at the time we built our home, I am confident we chose correctly. After selecting our floor plan and elevation choice (essentially, the look of the outside including the slope of the roof), we had 2-3 pages of upgrades to consider. The choices were a bit overwhelming until we agreed on our maximum purchase price and evaluated our options.

In making our selections, we chose quality over convenience or decoration. Our upgrades included:

  • Mud sink for the garage,
  • Large appliances,
  • Extended (tall) cabinets,
  • Fireplace with mantel,
  • Tier 2 carpet pad and carpet, and
  • Microwave with hood over the range.

All the upgrades we chose cost us less than having to remodel our house with these items. By choosing the best quality upgrades, we used our time wisely.

On a side note: One upgrade I really wanted was the matching crown molding for our kitchen cabinets. However, the price was outrageous and would have exceeded our agreed upon price. That choice also could easily be added at a later time. So, I sacrificed my heart’s desire, and by-passed that upgrade.

As the house was being built, Paul and I would stop by to watch the progress. On one occasion, we met our cabinet installer. After talking with him and thanking him for his work, this installer gave us his business card. We informed him that we were interested in the crown molding and might contact him in the future.

A few weeks later, I received a call from our builder asking us to please remove the crown molding left in the house. On our next visit to the house, Paul and I saw our crown molding. Our cabinet installer GAVE us the crown molding for our kitchen cabinets.

I cannot express the emotions I felt realizing that we chose wisely. The crown molding I desired was given to us free of charge saving us $750. What a blessing! I enjoyed writing that thank you note and am still appreciative of that gift.

The Results of the Choices

In the years we have lived in our house, all of these quality choices continue to serve us well. I am thankful we opted for the upgraded carpet pad and carpet. With continued cleaning and care, these carpets will continue to meet our needs. Though we paid more for these choices at the beginning, I am more aware of the benefits to paying a bit more for quality to save money (replacing the carpets), energy (moving everything out of each room), and time (waiting for the project to be completed) in the long run.

Next week in part 2, I will explain how our decisions of quality in other areas continue to save us money, energy, and time.

Question: What is the best quality choice you have made? Please add your answer by clicking the Leave your Comment button below.

Discount Tire: The Second Tire Incident This Year

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Photograph Credit: MorgueFile (Kenn W. Kiser)

What is it with me and tires this year? If you can answer this question, then I’m all ears. Prior to this year, the only issue I have had with tires is replacing them from wear and tear.

Then along came this year.

First Incident:

I have already shared my dealing with the pothole incident that took about 3 weeks to resolve (although I am still awaiting reimbursement from the State for those damages), and then this summer I had a flat tire.

Second Incident:

I went out grocery shopping. When I returned home, I parked in the garage (like normal). As I walked around the front of the car, I noticed that the tire seemed low on air. I mentioned it to Paul that afternoon and forgot about it. Later that evening, the family piled into the car on our way to go swimming. As Paul backed out of the garage, the thumping began.

Oh, the tire.

We unloaded the car, and Paul began putting the spare tire back on the car. In using our time wisely, the kids and I walked down to the swimming pool where Paul met us after changing the tire.

Resolution:

The next day, I had a sick child, so we stayed home. The following day, the kids and I took the car back down to Discount Tire. Though I am glad these guys are here to help, I am getting tired of seeing them so often.

While sitting in the waiting area, the kids and I read books, and my two older kids enjoyed coffee. (Yes, my older two like coffee. This is even more humorous when I tell you that neither Paul nor I drink coffee. They picked up this habit from their Grandmother. Thanks, Mom. :-)) Thankfully, this visit was rather short, about half an hour, but the best part, . . . the visit was free.

Discount Tire employees were able to plug the hole, refill the air, and swap out the spare for the repaired tire. How did we get this service for free? By purchasing the additional coverage on our new tires, which has been worth every penny of the approximately $17.95 charge per tire, I did not incur a charge for the repair.

Lesson Learned:

I will never doubt paying for the additional coverage again. The extra $80 for the coverage has saved our family at least $100 this year. Since the warranty time limit covers the life of the tire up to the mileage parameters, these tires should last until the next tire purchase.

Now we are back on the straight and narrow. Hopefully, our tires will last us for another few years, but if not, I will be visiting Discount Tire with my warranty in hand.

Question: Do you purchase the additional coverage on tires for your vehicles? If so, have you had to use the warranty?

RSS: Feed Reader – Part 5 of 5

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Photograph Credit: Wikipedia

Since I have not received any comments regarding setting up Google Reader and the subscriptions to my feed have increased, I am assuming all the instructions are accurate, and your reader is working great. If this is the case, then fantastic! I love it when directions work the first time. 🙂

If you have missed any sections to this series, these links can bring you up to speed: Part 1 – RSS explained, Part 2 – Google Reader setup, Part 3 – Adding subscriptions, and Part 4 – Customizing. Today, I hope to finish this series by answering the following 4 commonly asked questions:

1.     How do I get to the post’s web site from the reader?

A: Click on the title of the post. Each title is a link to the original post on the web site. After clicking the title, you will be directed to that post on that web site. You can then maneuver through the web site as needed.

2.     Why are some words or phrases highlighted in a different color?

A: Those words indicate an embedded link. When you click on those words, you will be directed to a post, web site, or blog related to that information.

3.     How can I change the format, so I can see the entire post on one screen without scrolling down?

A: Instead of scrolling down and then clicking NEXT ITEM to jump to the next post, you can view your posts in Reader Play.

To view posts in Reader Play:

  1. While in Google Reader, select ALL ITEMS in the left sidebar.
  2. In the menu bar on the right side, choose View settings.
  3. From the drop down menu, click the last option VIEW IN READER PLAY.
  4. The Reader Play will then open in another window or tab (depending on your browser settings).
  5. You can still use the keyboard shortcuts to STAR items for later.
  6. To close out, just close the window or the tab.

4.     How can I change the posts with excerpts to show the full post?

A: You cannot change this option. The author of that site has selected partial feed rather than full feed of his posts. If you are frustrated with this option, you are not alone. There are two blogs I read, because their content is great, but they choose partial feed over full feed. In contacting them to vent my frustration, I received a response explaining their choice. Since there are unscrupulous individuals who steal original posts and claim them as their own, some authors protect their writings by limiting the content through the RSS feeds. Though I understand their choice, the partial feeds annoy me because I have to click through to their web site to read the rest of the article. By clicking through, I am using up precious time.

If you subscribe to a web site that shows partial articles, consider commenting on a post or contacting the author to express your frustration. Sometimes the author is not aware of the setting. If they discover unhappy readers, then the author may consider changing to full feed. It never hurts to ask.

These are the questions I have either asked or answered regarding Google Reader. If you have additional questions, please leave me a comment. I will do my best to give you an answer.

In concluding this series on using an RSS feed reader, I hope you have found this information helpful, accurate, and worth your time. I value both my reader’s and my time. You have plenty to do, so keep using your time wisely! Happy organized reading!

RSS: Feed Reader – Part 4 of 5

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Photograph Credit: Wikipedia

How’s your Google Reader working? Well, I hope. Making one stop at your Google Reader to read all the latest news assists you in using your time wisely. If you have missed parts to this series, you can click on these links to catch up: Part 1 – RSS explained, Part 2 – Google Reader setup, and Part 3 – Adding subscriptions.

Hopefully, you have added your favorite sites and have navigated your way between the posts. Today, I will share my 4 favorite ways to customize Google Reader to maximize my time.

1. Use expanded format. On the top right side of your Google Reader, you can choose to show the posts in an expanded or list format. To read the posts in a list format, you click on each one to open the information. In the expanded format, all the information is listed. You only need to scroll down to read each post.

2. Choose ALL ITEMS to “set as start page.” Instead of seeing the HOME page with excerpts of the posts, I choose to view ALL ITEMS when I open my Google Reader. This setting saves me from clicking on ALL ITEMS on each visit.

Here’s how to set your start page:

  • Click on ALL ITEMS.
  • Locate the VIEW SETTINGS button in the menu bar at the top of your listed posts. Click to see the drop down menu.
  • From the drop down menu, select SET AS START PAGE. Now when you open your Google Reader, you will see all the unread posts.

3. Sort posts newest to oldest. You could also choose oldest to newest or by magic. The BY MAGIC option ranks your unread posts by your interests based on your time at Google Reader. The idea is that Google Reader sorts your posts most interesting to you to least interesting to you. Since I find all the posts interesting (which is why I subscribe), I choose the newest to oldest.

If you want to read all the posts from one web site, then click on the web site’s name on the left sidebar under subscriptions, and all the posts from that site will load on the right side of your reader. (NOTE: The viewable items will be the read and unread items in the order you have chosen to sort.)

4. Star items. As I read through the posts, I star items I want to keep for later. After reading through all my posts, I can then go to the left sidebar, select STARRED ITEMS, and all the starred items will be listed. When you are done with a starred post, you can unstar it.

Star Shortcut: Hit “s” while on the post to star and/or unstar it. When starred, the gray or blue star at the top of the post (by the title) and at the bottom of the post will change to yellow. For other keyboard shortcuts, visit Google Reader’s common questions.

There you have it! These are my tips for customizing Google Reader to help me use my time wisely while staying connected to my favorite web sites. If you have other tips or tricks for using Google Reader, please share in the comments. Next week, I will conclude this series with a couple troubleshooting solutions.