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Here’s Why Great Furniture Doesn’t Need To Break The Bank…

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Furniture is something that almost everyone will wind up buying at some point in their life. Even if you lead a spartan existence chances are you will still have a need for a few basic pieces of furniture such as a bed, a table, some chairs and the like.

While furniture can be expensive, you don’t have to break your wallet to buy it. There are a lot of things a savvy consumer can do to make sure they get high quality furniture without paying ridiculous amounts of money.

The truth is that no matter what you do, there is going to be some cost to buying furniture. It costs money to get the materials to make it and it costs money to pay the people who make it. However, while there is a cost to furniture, there are also ways to make sure you don’t pay more than you have to.

Search Online

As with most things, you can find great deals on furniture online. In fact a lot of people who do handmade furniture rely on internet traffic to make their business profitable. While you can find some great deals on furniture online there are two big problems with this.

The first is that you have no way to test the furniture. While you can see how it looks and generally read what other customers have said about the furniture, you can’t test it out. The second problem with buying furniture online is getting it to your house.

While there are many different ways to ship furniture, it can be pretty pricey to get delivered to you. So if you buy furniture online, keep an eye on what it is going to cost you to get it shipped to your house. Ideally you are looking for companies that make the shipping part of the sales price.

Look in Classifieds

The classified section of your paper is a great place to find good deals on furniture. While most of what is offered is used, some of it is actually still fairly new. Also because furniture can be expensive, a lot of people work really hard to take care of their stuff.

When you look in the classifieds for furniture you might also want to keep an eye out for estate sales or similar things since furniture is often a large part of these events.

Wait for the Going Out of Business Sale

If you have ever paid much attention to furniture store commercials, it seems like they are always going out of business. While there are actually some furniture stores that do go out of business, a lot of the times these ads are made simply to get you in their store for a big sale.

These sales are a great time to find excellent bargains on furniture. While most of the time these sales are actually clearance sales to make room for the new models of everything, the furniture is still worth having even if it is not the newest stuff out there.

In the end, it really is pretty easy to find good deals on high quality furniture. The main thing to keep in mind is that you need to be a little patient and willing to do some looking. Don’t give up if you don’t find anything at first, keep looking and keep waiting for a deal to show up.

There are lots of good deals on furniture out there and if you can be patient and put some effort into finding it, you don’t have to break your bank to get furniture.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/15073

This article has been submitted by Jim Murray, a freelance writer based in Australia who’s written for FactoryFast as well as many other websites and businesses.

Top 5 Tips for DIY Roofing Projects

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Undertaking a DIY project is not just about saving money. Many homeowners get involved with do-it-yourself projects because they want to play an active role in the design and upkeep of their own house. Roofing issues in particular make for the most sought after DIY projects for homeowners. Whether it is as simple as fixing a leak or completely retiling the entire roof, homeowners love to tackle roofing issues by themselves. Here are 5 top tips from roofing experts that should benefit DIY homeowners.


Cut down overhanging branches

Overhanging tree branches can cause a number of problems in a roofing project. In some cases, it is the overhanging branches that cause the problem in the first place. The best thing to do before proceeding with any work is to cut down any overhanging branches. Always check the local laws and regulations before cutting down any branches, especially if the tree is on public property; even the branch encroaches into your property, you may not have the right to cut it down and may have to call the proper authorities to do it. If the tree is in your neighbour’s backyard, seek their permission first.

Keep the gutters clean during and after

Doesn’t matter how strong and sturdy the gutters are, it is not uncommon to find damaged gutters after any roofing work has been performed. In order to minimize the chance of damaging the gutters, try to keep them clean during the project itself. Do not let dirt and debris build-up in the gutters with the aim of cleaning it all up in the end; the longer debris stays in the gutters, the greater the chance of damage. Once the project is completed, do not forget to clean out the gutters one final time; even if there is no damage, you could face the frightful prospect of blacked and clogged gutters.

Check the valleys for leaks

The part of the roof where two roof planes intersect is called the valley. As far as leaking is concerned, the valleys are the most susceptible part of the roof. It is not uncommon to find that some completely unrelated roofing project has caused some damage to the valleys and resulted in a leak. As soon as you complete any roofing work, run some water down the valleys to ensure that there are no leaks present.

Don’t get sloppy

The biggest mistake DIY enthusiasts make is to get sloppy as the project nears completion. Many homeowners find themselves pumped up and rearing to start a DIY roofing project. However, the longer the work takes, the more quickly their enthusiasm fades. At such times, it is very easy to get sloppy and goof up. Always give your full attention to the work at hand. Getting sloppy will not only result in poor quality work, but can also compromise safety.

Never compromise on safety

Many homeowners think it’s alright to skimp on safety standards since they are working in their own backyard. However, safety should never be compromised for any DIY project, including those related to roofing. Always have the necessary safety gear required, including working boots, safety glasses, hardhats and work gloves.

Follow these 5 top tips from roofing experts and your next roofing project should go off without a hitch.

Jeff Fernandes is the author of this guest post. He writes about various DIY projects and suggests Oil Boiler Servicing to maximize efficiency and reduce fuel consumption of your oil boilers.

I deserve a treat or two – time to shop

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I was just saying on my other blog that I’m due to treat myself to some new clothes. I don’t know why, but it seems that I always get the urge to add to my wardrobe at this time of year for some reason.

Anyway .. it’s been exactly a year since I quit smoking so that calls for a celebration and what better way to treat myself than to use some buckle coupons to buy some new clothes? Yep .. save some money and get some cool stuff. Uh huh … and if I don’t find anything for me at that store I can always use the coupons on something for one of my nieces I suppose.

So what do you think? Doesn’t that sound like a good enough reason to treat myself?

I’m in the process of quitting smoking

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I’m in the process of quitting smoking. I’m on day 5 of using Zyban and so far so good.

I’ve been smoking since I was a teenager, so I guess I’ve been smoking for more than 20 years, and while I started off as a light and occasional smoker I now qualify as a heavy smoker at a pack a day.

I’ve tried quitting at least three times in the past. Once cold turkey .. with little success and well, the other two attempts were with my sisters help when we both had our how jewelry trade related businesses and worked together in the same office. She paid for a Hypnosis treatment for me and later for a laser ear therapy treatment.

I think all in all my three past attempts were the equivalent of going cold turkey. The longest I managed to quit was for three months.

I decided to use a medication to help me quit this time around because in my past three short lived attempts I went through pretty bad withdrawal, anxiety and well – anger. I actually broke a chair in my office during one of my quitting smoking attempts in a fit of rage. My sister immediately asked the next customer that walked in our door if they had a cigarette for “her sister”. LOL

I’m still smoking, but I noticed on day three (Monday) that every time I lit a cigarette it didn’t taste right. It was like sucking on hot air or like trying to smoke a cigarette that had a rip in the paper. Kind of useless.

On day four I continued to smoke as much as I normally did, but as on day three, each cigarette was just like hot air. So today I decided to at least consciously try to cut down. I’ve been up since 9 am and it’s now 5:30 pm and I’ve only had 7 cigarettes today so far. That’s about half of what I would normally have had and I don’t feel too bad.

I’m not feeling anxious or angry. Of course I’m still getting my nicotine fix to some extent, so we’ll have to see what happens when I totally stop in a few days to a week or so, but I think it will be a lot better than when I’ve gone cold turkey.

In all my years as a smoker I’ve never been this determined to quit smoking. I think I really have a chance of being successful this time. I just keep reminding myself of all the bad things about smoking – all the terrible health problems it causes, and all the health benefits I’ll get from quitting. Plus … now if I want to apply for life insurance I’ll be able to get any kind, not just no exam life insurance as I’m sure insurance companies like non-smokers best.

My husband also smokes, but he’s the kind of smoker that can just stop for months at a time and when he starts up again he only smokes about 5 cigarettes a day. Of course, this time around, I told him, if you quit you can never start up again, or at least you can’t start up again as long as I’m quit and I’m determined to quit and stay quit.

So … with some hard work, determination and probably a little luck, we’ll both have totally stopped smoking by the end of the month. We’ll also be saving a lot of money when we do finally quit. Hundreds of dollars actually. That’s another thing I’m looking forward to – extra money to put towards bills, or to save, or to perhaps use for a holiday.

Are you a smoker or an ex-smoker? Have you tried to quit in the past? Were you successful? How did you try to quit? Any tips?

Time to tighten our belts – tight finances

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My husband and I are in a financial crunch right now. We just had to buy a new car when our old one unexpectedly died.

Man … we didn’t have any money to spare either. Well, I guess we had enough available to us to swing buying a used car, but that’s it. Now we have to watch every penny!

I’m now scratching my head and trying to figure out ways to both save and make more money. I have several websites and blogs and that’s the main way I earn income these days since I’m on medical leave from my work. Somehow though I need to come up with a few hundred dollars more per month.

Actually I cam across some Forex training webinars and I was thinking about looking into them … hey who knows, maybe I’d be good at. If I were, it would sure be a good way to make some much needed money! Anyone try this?

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