Christmas Countdown

Christmas Countdown

For the most passionate Christmas fans, the countdown to Christmas begins on December 26th.  Not everyone is that intense about Christmas, but you can borrow a few lessons from Christmas enthusiasts as you countdown to Christmas.  This article will help you prepare for the Christmas season as you carefully keep track of how many days are left until Christmas.

Most people begin thinking about Christmas shopping around November 1st, the day after Halloween.  It can be difficult to start thinking about the winter holidays so early, but as is said, “The early bird catches the worm.”  In this case, the worm is sanity (because you’re prepared) and great deals on all the Christmas gifts you’ll have to purchase anyway.

If you start thinking about Christmas around November 1st, you’ll have some obvious advantages:

You’ll be able to buy excess Halloween candy at extremely reduced prices to use as stocking stuffers.

You’ll be able to participate in Black Friday sales, both online and offline.  Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and is the busiest retail day of the year in the United States.  Black Friday sales abound.

You’ll have more time to shop around for cheap Christmas gifts, using comparison shopping to your advantage and using discount shopping options (like searching for discount online retailers and searching for promotional codes).

Continuing the Christmas countdown:

Since you’ll have started thinking about buying Christmas gifts in November, you’ll have more time to focus on other Christmas priorities as the holiday nears.  Things to think about doing early, so you’re not caught in a pinch include:

Buying and hanging Christmas lights

Preparing and sending your Christmas cards

Selecting Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas dinner recipes

It’s quite obvious that preparing for Christmas requires a lot of hard work – and please don’t underestimate that.  But if you countdown to Christmas and have your priorities in order, you can complete your Christmas shopping and other preparations early, so you’re not stressing when Santa comes to town.  And don’t forget: The Christmas season is supposed to be a merry time of year!…

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Where to Eat Out in Davao

Where to Eat Out in Davao

As the second largest city in the Philippines, with a population about to reach over 1.5 million people, Davao is a centre for many cultures and this is reflected in the foods. It’s possible to find food from many different parts of the world and once you start eating, it’s like being in the country itself the flavours are so authentic.

No area is this more true than Rizal Street where visitors can hop from continent to continent trying different delicacies just by walking from one side of the road to the other. Rizal Street is about half a mile long and is located in Metro Davao where food and drinks are available at almost any time of day. Some of the key restaurants on this stretch are Merco which has an excellent bakery with an assortment of pastries but these are better saved for dessert as you’ll want to have room for the Filipino dishes that taste just like great home cooking. Directly opposite the Mandarin Tea Garden provides tasty dim sum and original rice dishes along with congee and so many other choices it takes a while to get through the menu.

Anyone with a really big appetite should try the Iron Horse Buffet which lets you select how you want your Davao dishes cooked either baked, fried or grilled and at roughly 130 Pesos the price isn’t steep either. Another buffet, all you can manage kind of place and perfect for seafood lovers, is Apung Kula Seafood Grill. It also has a set price and the prawns, crab or the speciality catch of the day always keeps this place busy with large groups of people.

It may not be fine dining but TAPS is a chain with an outlet along the street where Filipino food can be bought cheaply and it’s reputation is why its grown from a small family start-up to multiple eateries around the city. Ox feet may not be for everyone but it’s worth trying and their tapa and chicken adobo, which is a stew cooked in vinegar, are some of the dishes that truly represent the Philippines.

Continuing on the theme of authentic Filipino meals, Lechon is a distinct favourite and it’s impossible not to go to any sort of music or religious festival without seeing a pig being slowly roasted. If you’re not in town over one of the big occasions then Mr Whaw Litson Biik Grill is an absolute must if you want to try this home-grown specialty.

Away from Rizal Street, the Harana restaurant has a couple of locations on Torres Street and in Matina by the McArthur Highway and is a great choice for families with children. The atmosphere is always welcoming and house specialities include the spare ribs or fried rice known as sinangag which is still cooked to the original owner’s recipe.

Not far away from the Harana on Torres Street is Tiny Kitchen at the corner of Mabini Street. The restaurant is a mixture of Filipino and Spanish food and their dried fish called tuyo is regarded as being so good people from Manila even ask friends to bring some back when visiting the capital. The Calderata Espanol is also highly rated and consists of a beef stew with olives, potatoes and carrots covered in a deliciously thick sauce.

For a coffee after dinner or a quick caffeine boost during the day, the final suggestion for the best place to visit is the Coffee Mood Coffee Shop. Found within the Davao hotel Las Casitas de Angela, the coffee here is always good and they do a few cakes just in case there’s any chance you could still be hungry.…

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Tips to Help You Save While Grocery Shopping

Tips to Help You Save While Grocery Shopping

With just about everyone struggling in today’s economy. The challenge to save money is the number one concern for many Americans. It is easy to stop buying something or to give up on your luxuries, but when it comes to putting gas in your car, paying the light bill or even buying groceries you find yourself letting go of that hard earned cash.

If you shop wisely you will find that it is not necessary to give up the foods you love in order to save money. I have compiled a list of ideas to help you spend less while possibly buying more. These ideas are ways my family and myself have adapted in our life to save money and I know that they will help you to. You can follow this article word for word or just pick out the ideas that will fit your lifestyle. I feel confident there is a tip or two for everyone.

First thing you need to know is that all grocery stores are designed and setup in such a way that they will entice you to spend your money on things you really do not need. You want to make sure that you never go shopping on an empty stomach. Studies show that if you go in to the store hungry you will spend much more than necessary. Next you want to map out the stores that you plan on shopping at. Spend a few days learning what stores have the best price on meats, produce, bakery, deli etc. You will find that while one store has bargain prices on meats, they will be over priced on your other items. While you shop the first month you will want to pay close attention to when you store runs sales. Every grocery store runs specials during certain times of the month. They will usually do this during their slow periods. It is advantageous to you to find out when they run these special. The next thing you want to do is visit an online coupon website and pick the coupons of foods you already buy. Do not use coupons for things you think you want, otherwise you are defeating the purpose of the coupons. You can then use the coupons during the days your store runs their specials. Also check with the store manager and see if they run a double or even triple coupon day. This is another tactic grocery stores do to boost sales during the slow times of the week. If it is possible, time your coupon use along with a double coupon day that is also running a sale, you will be amazed at the savings. It is very likely that you will experience a forty to sixty percent saving during that week. Another tip is to never buy items from the middle of the shelves. This is because all the high priced items are place at eye level.

Remember at the beginning of the article I said the store is designed to take your money. They spend a lot of time figuring out where to put things and the lay out is one of the way to make money for the grocery stores. Always try to buy the items from the top or bottom shelving. You will want to buy items like ketchup, mustard, cereal and most other items that you consume a lot of in bulk. There is much to save by simply buying in bulk once a month and then repackage the items for daily or weekly use. Finally, make sure you comparison shop, especially when you are using coupons. Sometimes you may think your getting a great deal, but if you compare a store brand item with the brand item, you may find that the store brand is still cheaper than the brand even with the use of the coupon. Make sure you figure the price out by the ounce, lbs. or units. Sometimes you will find that the packaging can be deceiving. By breaking the pricing down this way the cheaper costing items is not always what it appears to be.

Here is a recap for you to follow and develop you new found shopping skills.

1. Find out what store has the best priced meats, produce and dairy.

2. Find out when they run specials and also offer double or triple coupon days.

3. Go to coupon websites and print the coupons you need.

4. Find a store to buy your bulk items once a month.

5. Only shop on a full stomach.

6. Look up or down and never in the center when buying your items.

7. Only buy what you need, when you need it.

After a couple of months you will start to …

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Online Shopping Tips Designed to Get You Through Your Next Surfing Excursion

Online Shopping Tips Designed to Get You Through Your Next Surfing Excursion

Online shopping has become common place to many Internet subscribers. Now people from all over the world are taking advantage of all online shopping has to offer. In fact, there are a good number of virtual shopping malls popping up that are taking the Internet community by storm. Below are online shopping tips designed to see you through your next shopping excursion.

Shop at secure websites. Any time you will share your personal information such as credit card numbers or checking account information, it is crucial this information be kept private. Shopping from secure websites will insure your information will remain safe. You may also choose not to save this information, opting instead to re-enter it every time you shop. This is also advisable. Between the two, you are increasing your chances of having a safe and secure shopping experience.

Research the website before you order from it. Obtaining knowledge about the company is a good idea because it will give you an idea of their history, how they operate and the service you are likely to receive.

Read the privacy and security settings of the websites before making a purchase. This will be important information and may contain content you will need to know.

Never give out your social security number. This is a rule of thumb for a lot of situations, but there should be no reason why this information would be necessary in any online shopping context.

Disclose only the barest of facts when ordering from any website. It is important to include only the information that is needed for your purchase. Sharing too much information if not necessary and could meet with negative results.

Keep all passwords private. This is advisable in any situation, but you really don’t want anyone to find the password you have created for a specific shopping site, especially if your credit or debit card information is stored there. Even if this isn’t the case, your password should remain secret at all times.

Always print a copy of every order. This serves as a receipt and may be necessary if some information gets lost. You may also need to refer back to it at a later date should you need to make an exchange or if a question arises you cannot answer without the information. While you will probably receive an E-Mail confirmation, keeping a printed copy is a great idea in case the message is accidentally lost or deleted.…

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Features to Consider For an E-Commerce Website Builder – A Web Store

Features to Consider For an E-Commerce Website Builder – A Web Store

If you’re considering starting a web-based business or would like to establish an online presence for your existing brick-and-mortar store, then there are some vital components that should be a part of your e-commerce website builder.

#1 Design Options:

Designing your web store should allow your creative desires to be fulfilled. The look, flow and functionality of your store will be an important component of your website. A store that’s visually pleasing will make a great first impression to potential buyers. Your website builder software should allow you to make modifications to the HTML and CSS template (programming languages used to customize your site). However, it should also provide an easy to use interface to make aesthetic changes without needing to know any programming languages.

#2 Product Variations:

You’ll want to know if your website builder software allows flexibility when creating product variations. For instance, if you’re selling t-shirts it’s important that your website is able to display the product variations such as size, color and style. Some website builders don’t allow for product variations and others only allow it when you sign up for the more expensive plans. This feature should be available regardless of what pricing plan you select.

#3 Inventory Control:

Selling any type of product always means having an efficient inventory system in place to monitor stock levels. Low stock warnings and expected in-stock date notices to customers keeps them informed on your offerings and helps you to see what products need to be restocked. If you sell hundreds or even thousands of products, manually monitoring stock levels would be next to impossible. Make sure your website builder software provides this time-saving option for inventory purposes.

#4 Payment Processing Options:

Having products to sell is one ingredient that you need for your web store. The other is payment processing when somebody decides to buy your products. Your website building platform should allow you to choose from a wide range of credit card processing systems (merchant processing systems). These systems make it possible to process a customer’s credit card information and make sure you are paid for those sales. You’ll have to sign up for a merchant account with one of these companies if you decide to go this route.

The other option that doesn’t require any monthly merchant fees is to utilize PayPal as your payment processing system. PayPal is an eBay owned company and is widely used by eBay buyers and sellers. It’s also widely used on independent web stores in large numbers. It’s an attractive option, especially for new start-up web stores because there are no equipment fees or monthly merchant fees. You just pay a small percentage of each sale. If this sounds appealing to you, make sure your website builder software allows for PayPal processing.

#5 SEO (Search Engine Optimization):

SEO is a term that describes good practices you should employ when creating the content of your website to make sure that the search engines, such as Google, can easily find your website. The more relative your products and descriptions are to somebody doing a Google search, the better chance they have of finding your website and products. SEO is a topic that you can fill several weeks and months worth of studying on, however, the very basic SEO principles as it relates to website design and structure should be provided by your website builder software. Make sure whatever software platform you choose has developed their platform to be search engine optimized.

#6 Coupon and Promotional Codes:

Nothing creates more interest in your product then a good sale or promotion. You’ve probably even used promotional codes and online coupons when shopping on various online retail sites. Your customers will also be interested in your site and products if you have the option to create and accept promotional codes and coupons. As with the product variations option above, many website building platforms will only offer the option to create online coupons and promotions if you subscribe to a more expensive monthly hosting plan. You can find a few platforms out there that offers this option on all of their plans. We recommend one below.

#7 Product Return Processing:

So you’re making sales on your new website. That’s great, but with sales will come product returns. Not having an efficient return policy or procedure will become evident at the wrong time, when your customers are requesting a return. Having a built-in product return request option right on your website will give your customers an easy way to fill out a return request and an easy way for you to handle those requests. Don’t make good customer service an after thought. Keep these things in mind as you design your store and it …

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5 Tips for Shopping Online for Rugs

5 Tips for Shopping Online for Rugs

While there is the perk of being able to take a rug home with you when you buy it from a local store, there are many advantages to shopping for your new rug online. You might think that shopping for a rug online would be a hassle but this is far from true. There are many advantages to online rug shopping. When you are considering a new rug for your home, consider these advantages.

More choices: Even the big box stores have limited stock. They also have the problem of some rugs being sold out. When you shop online for a rug, this is not a problem because they will clearly state when a rug is out of stock, or you might not even been shown it. Online stores are not limited by space issues so they normally have a much larger variety of rugs available to choose from. They can deal in hundreds of rug choices where an actual store can’t.

No salespeople to deal with: Shopping online eliminates the pushy salesman from the equation. You don’t have to worry about how much time you are taking to make your decision. You can look at as many rugs as you want and take as much time as you need to decide without someone hanging over you. If you need more information on a particular material or style of rug, most reputable online rug stores have help sections to assist you. You never have to be concerned with a salesperson working on commission trying to get you to buy a rug you don’t really want or one that is just not right for your needs.

No limitations: When you shop online for your new rug, you can shop from any city or even any country for your rug. This greatly enhances your choices. You are never limited by what is available in your town.

Cost: Believe it or not, buying a rug online can actually be less expensive than buying it from a local store. Stores need to add on their shipping costs, their store overhead and the costs of having employees. Buying online and paying the shipping will eliminate the middle man and will usually get you a better deal than you can find in a store. Plus you can compare prices easily between websites so you know you are getting the best deal possible.

Convenience: When you shop online, you can do it when it is convenient for you. You are not limited by store hours. You can shop in your pajamas with your cup of coffee by your side. You don’t have to corral the kids or drag your husband along with you. You can buy your rug in the middle of the night if you want to. You don’t have to expend gasoline to drive from store to store.

When you want a new area rug, shopping for it online may be just the thing for you. There are many advantages and very few disadvantages to it. As long as you shop intelligently, you will find just the right rug and for just the right price online.…

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Four Online Shopping Tips For Safety

Four Online Shopping Tips For Safety

The National Retail Foundation reports due to the technological advances of today more and more people are using the internet to do their online shopping especially during the holiday season. When it comes to shopping in the digital marketplace all the necessary safety precautions must be followed to avoid the probable of a scam. Below are four safety tips to practice when shopping digitally.

Always shop from a computer that is fully secure, particularly those who do Canadian online shopping at a internet cafe this can be dangerous because these PCs often times are infected with spy-ware which steal all you information such as passwords and user names. It is always better to shop from a private computer that has a functional up-to-date anti-virus software, for additional protect you use a firewall to block unauthorized access to and from the computer.

If shopping for a new electronics device for example dell computers it is always best to with from a website that’s trusted and has positive reviews from customers, it’s always advisable to stick with merchants that have a good track record. It is equally important to also check the merchant’s shipping and return protocols prior to making that final purchase, don’t worry about missing discounts, just ensure that the fine prints and disclaimer are read properly.

Be sure to keep a printed copy for each confirmation email or receipt received. Secure all receipts in a single folder and store them in a safe location, never purchase from a unknown email address that’s advertising or recommending a product because these offers are nearly always a scam.

Many cyber criminals setup up attractive store fronts that shuts down days after the unsuspecting shopper completes a purchase order, if not familiar with a merchant it is best to conduct a quick search to check the integrity of that business.

Ripoff Report and the Better Business Bureau normally has a lot of information about consumer complaints from legitimate online companies For those who do Canada online shopping it is always best to shop from a credit card even if debit cards are accepted reason being federal law states that those who issue credit cards can make a customer liable for the first $50 on fraudulent charges and many issuers will even waive this amount.

Although debit card insurers adopt the same approach, your back account may get overdrawn while in the process of disputing any fraudulent charges especially when they aren’t detect immediately. Experts claim that credit cards present the least amount of hassle when disputing with any financial institution in the event any unauthorized charges that may show up on your monthly statement at a later date.

For maximum security and protection consider alternative methods of payment when buying online, there are many websites online that you can use to create a virtual account that you have use to conduct your digital transactions, some of which can be specified for a single transaction after which the account becomes unable hence securing the customers.…

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