Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 11:16 am. 0 comments
If you have started your Forex trading training you may initially have a challenge with understanding how orders are placed. I remember when I first started reading about the Forex and practicing in a demo account, it took me a while to understand how stops and limits worked in relation to price.
This article sets out the main rules governing the placement of orders with a free graphic download in the resource box at the end which you can keep on your desktop and refer to at anytime until the rules have ’sunk in’. You will find this lesson extremely important if you are in the early stages of your forex trading training.
Here are the basics:
1. In each currency pair, the first currency is the base currency which you either buy or sell. For example, in the case of EUR/USD, if you believe the euro is going to strengthen against the US dollar you would place a BUY order (go long). If you believe the dollar will strengthen against the euro, you would place a SELL order (go short) for the EUR/USD currency pair.
2. In your dealing station you will notice two prices quoted for each currency pair, a BID price and an ASK price. The difference in the two prices is known as the pip spread the dealer takes from every trade. For the major currency pairs this can be between 3-5 pips.
NOTE: When you place a BUY order you will enter the trade at the ASK price. When you place a SELL order you will enter the trade at the BID price.
3. There are two types of orders you can use to enter a trade:
A market order is an order to buy or sell at the market price the moment you enter the trade by clicking your mouse button.
An entry order is an order to buy or sell when the market price reaches a certain target or level you anticipate from your technical analysis.
Note: Avoid market orders as they seldom give you the best entry point unless you really understand the market. An entry order allows you time to analyze key price levels and set the order to be executed only if price pulls back or reaches that level. This way you enter the trade at an optimum level.
Stops and Limits
Once you have calculated your trade and anticipated how far you think price will go, you need to enter a limit order so the trade will automatically exit at that profit level. In the case of a buy order, your limit will be set above the entry price. In the case of a sell order, your limit will be set below the entry price.
For your protection you then need to set a stop order. If price goes against you your trade will exit at a loss according to the number of pips you have calculated that you can afford to lose taking into account your equity. In the case of a buy order, your stop would be below the entry price. If the case of a sell order, your stop would be above the entry price.
As part of your Forex trading training, it is important to get very familiar with the software you are provided with from your online broker. Practice, practice, practice, making entry orders, and setting the entry price and the stop and limit levels.
It is easy in the early days of Forex trading training to get mixed up with direction. You may wish to place an entry order to sell (go short) and inadvertently put a buy order in instead only to get a shock when you see a minus figure under the pip column steadily growing.
The details explained above are available in a graphic you can keep on your desktop and refer to at any time you are trading. Just go to the link in the resource box below and get a copy.
Then as part of your daily Forex trading training, refer to it each time you place a trade in your demo account until your understanding of the rules of order entry, bid and ask price, stops and limits, come automatically without thinking.
You will be laying a solid foundation for more advanced Forex trading training steps so you can concentrate your mental energies on price and chart analysis rather than being sidetracked by confusion over basic order rules.
The powerful 200 EMA strategy - easy for newer traders:
http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/200EMA-forex-strategy.htm
For a free candle & chart pattern recognition reference tool click here:
http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Candle-Chart-Patterns
For the best free economic calendars plus a free pivot point calculator and Fibonacci calculator click here:
http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 11:21 pm. 0 comments
Remortgages have been around as long as mortgages and go through cycles of popularity in the UK. Before the property downturn in the 1990s the practice of remortgaging was fairly uncommon; in that sluggish market many lenders realized that the only way to increase their business was to tap into their competitors’ existing client base and this is how remortgage popularity increased. It was common then for lenders to include punitive redemption penalties but this practice has decreased and high costs only really apply to premature extraction in the duration of the introductory deal rather than the entire length of the mortgage. This increased flexibility has resulted in a huge increase in remortgages in the UK so that they account for roughly 40% of current mortgages, but the credit crunch is impacting on this market.
Up until the recent credit crunch UK remortgages had been seen as a relatively inexpensive way of releasing limited amounts of the property’s equity for relatively large capital projects such as an extensive redecoration or extension to the property, car purchase or a one-off high cost holiday. As mortgage rates have risen, though, this type of remortgage route has diminished in popularity and really should only pursued if essential.
By far the most common remortgage is when the homeowner seeks to lower the cost of their mortgage when the introductory term has come to an end or when the homeowner seeks to move house. In these circumstances it is likely that the homeowner will remain with their current lender and often the mortgage lender will contact the borrower regarding the remortgage. However, the borrower has no obligation to remain with their current lender and can shop around for better deals.
The UK remortgage market is being impacted by the credit crisis; the days of cheap cash are over and the costs are being passed onto the end consumer. Some borrowers who had mortgages over 100% of the value of their property will now not be able to remortgage to a similar level - very few lenders will now exceed a 95% remortgage level. A corollary to this is that the more you borrow, the greater the costs to do so. For example, lenders can take out Mortgage Indemnity Guarantees (MIG) if they borrow more than a certain amount to insure themselves against possible default.
As a general guide for the borrower, now that the financial situation has downturned remortgage UK should only be an option undertaken out of need rather than luxury as ultimately your home is at risk if you do not keep up with the repayments.
Aaron Hill has a decade of experience in the financial services industry. His main area of expertise is mortgage advice and writes many articles on mortgages for finance industry, mortgage brokers and the general public alike.
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 10:52 am. 0 comments
Exchanging Currency from Pounds to Euros can appear simple and easy, but without proper precautions you could lose out on a poor exchange rate and lose as much as £10,000 per £100,000 exchanged.
With the best respect in the world our high street banks have been doing a great job over the past four decades as people have been buying property abroad. Since the 60’s they have dominated the currency exchange market. Basically… and to their credit they have a reputation far and beyond any other organizations.
However since the change of the century, building societies have led the way in competing with the banks. As far as economics, such competition makes the market place more competitive. From a Currency Exchange point of view they are also beginning to lose out on transfer of money; especially on purchases of property abroad.
I can give you a 1000 words, but none will promote the Currency Broker better than genuine examples:
Case Study
In August 2007 there was Jayne from Southampton, she was buying a property in Almeria, Spain. Her transfer was for a villa at £325,000; a superb 5 bedroom villa with sea views. Her bank had frightened her with the exchange rate, so she decided to look elsewhere; fortunately she came to a Currency Broker’s website. She was offered an exchange rate of US ¬1.39 / £1; they were able to offer ¬1.41 / £1. This meant had she continued with the bank she would have realised ¬451,750 - however fortunately the broker service could manage ¬458,250; saving Jayne ¬6,500 (£4,600)
Case Study
Margaret and her husband Roy were buying in the Majorca in December 2007; they were buying a 3 Bedroom apartment on a top class complex, swimming pool, bar, shops etc. The property in Majorca is expensive so a three bedroom apartment was priced at £265,000. Newly retired they wanted the best deal on their currency exchange. Their bank had quoted ¬1.31 / £1 but the broker was able to secure at deal at ¬1.33 / £1. This meant the currency broker was able to save Margaret and Roy ¬5,300 (£3,900).
I hope these two case studies have helped your understanding on how important it is to get several quotes when exchanging currencies.
Before you read this article would you pay 5,300 for a service when purchasing a property abroad? Probably not… But some are, and the banks are laughing.
Pounds to Euros
Mr. P. Booker
Senior Currency Expert and Columnist
Buying Property Abroad
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 10:22 pm. 0 comments
Borrowers with bad credit that are seeking commercial loans will often face a difficult process, expensive loan options and many “no’s”. Even though it is a tough situation, borrowers should try to not get discourage and to stay patent as their solution may be just around the around the corner.
What are the potential commercial loan options for borrowers with bad credit? If the borrower operates their business out of the subject property than one of the best programs will be the SBA commercial loans. This often comes as a surprise to many that have shopped for SBA loans and found the underwriting criteria as difficult as conventional sources.
The thing to keep in mind here is that the SBA does not dictate any credit score type restrictions. It’s the lenders themselves that establish credit score minimums. So borrowers need to find the SBA lenders that will have flexibility with this component. For example we work with a few SBA Lenders that will go down to 580 and a few that will lend to borrowers with scores in the low 500’s with good compensating factors. The key here for borrowers to remember that it’s not the SBA that dictates the credit score criteria but the funding bank.
Compensating factors include high liquidity, strong business cash flow, solid experience and often a good story behind the credit issues. Lenders will often be more satisfied and more willing to lend to borrowers that had, for example medical issues, that have been resolved and that the borrower has managed to turn their situation around (even though there score may not yet reflect it). Borrowers that can’t document a turn around and or can’t give a good reason why their score is low will have a much harder time getting a bank to consider their request.
There are two types of SBA loans the 504 and the SBA 7a. The 504 is geared for purchases only and the minimum loan amount is often $2,000,000. Borrowers with bad credit will have a harder time getting approved for this loan. The SBA 7a loan will often be more geared towards borrowers with credit issues. The program will often go to 85% or even 90% loan to value in some cases. The typical loan amount will range from $400,000 - $2,000,000. Some lenders will allow borrowers to roll in other business debt (such as business credit cards) which can often help improve borrower’s credit score.
Not all SBA lenders are the same and for borrowers with bad credit seeking commercial loans this is a very important idea to keep in mind. You will need to call many lenders to find the one that is willing to hear the “story”.
Jeff Rauth is President of Commercial Finance Advisors, Inc out of Birmingham, Michigan. He has a STORE for commercial loan brokers. Contracts, spreadsheets, books, etc. Products starting at $4.95! Check it out commercial real estate loans or commercial mortgage broker store or commercial loan rates
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 6:53 am. 0 comments
Premium financing is a process wherein the permanent life insurance policy premiums are being paid by some of the third parties or third party lenders and it is an excellent marketing idea. In other words it can also be put forward as premium financing is a process which aims to increase your insurance needs by the method of financing the insurance. Thus premium financing enables individuals, business firms and the large companies to purchase the insurance without having to sell or lock up the various assets.
The working of the premium financing works in the following way consider for example you are owning an insurance policy worth X amount of dollars and you can use the value of your insurance policy as a mode of collateral security which will enable you to finance other insurance policies. Thus in this way premium financing allows you with a wide range of insurance options open to you. There is no doubt that premium financing is very much cost effective. It is a very favorable financing option as you can secure a huge loan amount against the life insurance policy. It is quite important to understand that you are going to get a much better option or in other words you will get much better rate of interest and the term of loan for the secured and the unsecured financing.
However it is important that before getting a premium financing option you need to have a look at your financial needs and get proper advice before you go on with a financing option. There is this one question which many people have as to will it be required for them to purchase a new insurance policy or can they get the service of premium financing on their existing insurance policies. Well the answer to this simple question would be that at the time the practice of premium financing came into existence it was a requirement that you will have to purchase new insurance policies, but now this is not the case as you can get this option of premium financing on your existing insurance policy and there is no requirement for you to take the strain of going for a new insurance policy. This will again provide you with a very much better option that would not ask for your valuable possessions to be given as collateral security.
Some other people who really take the benefit of premium financing are the wealthy investors or the business owners. It is an extremely good option for the companies that do not want to tie up their assets to purchase the large amount of insurance policies. It is also a technique which is offered for the employees to be offered as a part of their wages. It allows the firms to attract new employees and help them retain their valuable employees. Premium financing is also used as a technique for estate planning, company expansion, attracting new employees and retaining their valuable employees.
Cathrine is a SEO Copywriter of Premium Financing. She has written many articles on Premium finance service, Life Settlement Broker, Life insurance settlements, …etc. For more information visit: Premium Finance or email us at lumlaatseg@live.com
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 9:42 am. 0 comments
Newcomers to trading the foreign exchange currency markets do well to accept the observation of experienced seasoned traders that the idea of a perfect Forex trading tool is an illusion.
While no perfect Forex trading tool exists, using a combination of tools to identify a converging of favorable market factors can yield a majority of high probability trades over a period of time.
Trendlines certainly deserve close consideration and many successful traders add them to their collection of Forex trading tools.
It should be stated at the outset that trendlines by themselves do not provide a strong enough signal to warrant making a trade. They are a useful addition and provide confirmation of signals from other tools. (See resource box for a visual example of using a trendline as a trade entry point)
The Three Trendline Strategy
Consider these three main types of trendlines you need to know and use if you are going to make any sense of trendlines.
Trendlines are lines drawn across significant lows in an uptrend, and significant highs in a downtrend. The more candles to the left and right of the lowest candle in an uptrend or the highest candle in a downtrend make the low or high point more significant.
1. Short Term Trendlines
Draw these lines across the most recent two lows (for an uptrend) or highs (for a downtrend). These are best observed on a smaller time frame such as a 15 minute or 30 minute chart.
2. Medium Term Trendlines
These are best observed on a higher time frame such as a 60 minute chart. Again connect the nearest significant low to current price action to the previous significant low in an uptrend or the nearest significant high to current price action to the previous significant high in a downtrend.
3. Long Term Trendlines
Use higher time frames such as the 4 hour chart or the daily chart to draw long term trendlines using the same method described for Medium Term Trendlines.
The long term trendline can be a powerful Forex trading tool. Keep in mind that the daily chart is used prominently by traders of big institutions. Such traders probably do not engage in small moves on an intra day level. They are more concerned about taking a position on a currency pair.
The daily chart is consulted by them when making decisions. So by drawing a trendline on a daily chart you can present to yourself graphically just where price is and where it is likely to either possibly bounce and retrace or continue with the current momentum.
Using Trendlines As An Effective Forex Trading Tool
Trendlines on the short time frame merely give you a defined picture of current price action. These trendlines are broken often during the course of a day. It is probably not a good idea to enter trades based on trendline breaks from a small time frame chart. Their main use is to give you a clear, instantly recognizable graphical representation of current price behavior.
However, here is where trendlines can prove to be a useful Forex trading tool:
If you notice price coming back to test a trendline on the higher time frames, (anything over 30 minutes), look at other factors. For example:
- Draw in horizontal lines to mark key support and resistance using previous highs and lows.
- Draw Fibonacci retracement and extension levels.
- Calculate the daily pivot points and put them on your chart.
- Have the 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) shown on your charts.
Now, if price were to bounce or touch the trendline on the medium to higher time frames, that is, on the 60 minute, 4 hour, or even daily charts, does that price point also coincide with or match up with one of the other indicators mentioned above?
If for example the trendline intersects with a pivot point which is also a Fibonacci 50% or 62% retracement, or 127% or 162% extension, then you have a convergence of factors. If you entered a trade at that point there is a high probability you will catch at least 10 to 20 pips on the first move on the bounce.
Looking for such opportunities takes patience. They don’t come up so often but when they do you can be ALMOST guaranteed a successful trade if you keep your first profit target to a reasonable level.
If trading multiple lots, then be sure to take your first profit at the 10 to 20 pip level and let one or two other lots run if price continues in the direction you anticipate. At the same time of course you would move up your stop to break even point after taking first profit so your trade can now run without risk.
Employ trendlines as a Forex trading tool with caution and discretion. Covering your charts with every trendline possible will only result in confusion and blurry analysis.
One or two trendlines at key or significant swing points, (price highs and lows) can give you a defined, clear picture of price action, which, when coupled with your other Forex trading tools, can result in profitable trades.
See how to use trendlines to get an optimum trade entry point:
http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/trendline.html
How do you trade the non-farm payroll report? Read this:
http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/forex-strategy-non-farm-payroll.htm
For the best free economic calendars plus a free pivot point calculator and Fibonacci calculator click here:
http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 9:13 am. 0 comments
Day trading is basically the buying and selling of stocks over a relatively short period of time, sometimes minutes. It was once only available to floor traders and investment banks but now the Internet has made day trading accessible to anyone with a computer system. There is good money to be made (and lost) using this method.
As an example, a day trader might buy 1000 shares of stock A at 10:00 as the price begins to move upwards on good news, then sell it at 10:04 when the stock price has risen (for example, by $0.50). The day trader would make $500 profit, less his commission which with today’s low commission rates of around $30 or less per trade, that’s a nice $440 or better, excluding taxes.
Day trading usually follows one of two approaches, either beating the spread or attempting to catch short term trends. The spread is the difference between what is being offered for a stock (the bid) and the price being asked for the stock (the ask). With spread trading, you attempt to buy at the ‘bid’ and sell at the ‘ask’ as many times as possible. Spread traders can make hundreds of this type of trade every day.
ECNs or Electronic Communication Networks are a recent development. They are completely electronic exchanges with very low commissions and very fast execution of orders. As a method of encouraging traders to use their networks, some ECNs offer incentives in the form of a rebate. In some cases, this can allow a day trader to make money simply from buying and selling a stock at the same price.
Day trading can be very profitable if you get it right, but you need to research as much as possible and take advantage of the free simulation software that is available for you to practice with before you take the plunge. Remember, day trading isn’t for the faint hearted!
To find out more about day trading software, take a look at my Day Trading Blog
Practice before you dive in with free simulation software at my Day Trading Blog
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 11:26 pm. 0 comments
There has been a lot of debate over the years as to whether or not gold is worth investing your money in. Some make the claim that it makes an excellent hedge against inflation; others might say that you can use it as a quick fix for some extra cash. And then there are some that invest in it when the economy is bad because they feel if everything crashes, at least their gold will still carry some value.
So what is it? Is gold a good investment?
Well- let’s define “investment” first; really, it should be categorized into a couple of different perspectives. We either invest with a long term approach, or we invest with a short term, turn a quick profit approach. In this article, we’ll explore both the short term and long term approaches to using gold as an investment.
Before we consider the above, let’s look at how gold has been performing throughout the years and use that data to consider the question.
First, if we were to take all of the years that gold’s worth has been calculated up to the present, we would find that gold has improved in value at about 2% annually. In the last 50 years, things have been a little bit better, as gold has been increasing at about 4% annually. So would it be a good long term investment? Doubt it… most good index funds (something that might follow the S&P 500, for example) have been increasing on average at 12% annually in those same years. Do your research- you’ll find the same data.
Here’s another interesting thing: if you would have bought a bunch of gold back in 1983, you would have purchased it for roughly $510 per ounce. Thinking that it might be “a good hedge against inflation,” you hold that investment for the next 20 years or so. By the end of 2005, if you were to have attempted to sell that same gold, you would have made literally NOTHING! That’s right- in December of 2005, gold was being sold at $515 per ounce!
If you take inflation running at about 3% into account, you’d have found that gold would have lost you a substantial amount of money.
Is good a good investment? Considering the numbers, it wouldn’t be good long term.
How about gold as a short term investment? Currently, gold is being traded for roughly $875 per ounce! In the last several years, it’s been increasing at an astounding rate! So now would be a good time to buy, right? Absolutely not! It’s only been in the last few years that it’s really gained any ground; if you look into history, anytime gold begins to look up, it ends up taking a hard fall. If you would have bought gold in the last couple of years, now might be a good time to sell it!
But what about now? Should you buy it? Well… you decide. Typically, I like to buy low and sell high; don’t we all? So… with gold being as high as it is, the worst decision you could make would be to buy it. Don’t touch it!
So, in short, is gold a good investment? Absolutely NOT! Stay away from it.
Trever Shipp, the author, works as an online business consultant, student, husband, and business owner. Follow his personal finance blog and see how he and his family take finances by the horns and steer them to success.
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 10:30 pm. 0 comments
Besting: Better Nesting - an improvement in quality of housing with additional features and benefits. Amenity rich options that afford luxury and levels of comfort or pampering that reach beyond traditional housing.
Future Primary Residence: A second home today, that may or may not generate some rental income, but its primary purchase was for future personal use as a retirement residence. FPR is different from a traditional second home in that it is being interviewed and mentored for the day it becomes a full time home.
Cottage: The home you dream of being at while you are in the office. If home is where your heart is, your heart is up at the cottage, by the lake, overlooking the valley, next to the town, deep in the woods, perched on a bluff with the most incredible sunsets and sunrises from your hammock.
Pied a terre: If your dream home is in a vibrant city centre, with the vibe of culture at your doorsteps, then a pied a terre may be in your future. Typically a small, basic housing style - Besting suggests these properties are getting more luxurious in amenities and services.
Traditional Condominium: A cottage with less maintenance and a gardener who trims and weeds while you are back at the office. Legally a condominium is an ownership interest in a block of air, from painted wall to painted wall, and a right to use common areas owned by you and the other condo association owners. This is a form of ’shared ownership’.
Condo Resort Residence: A condo within a luxury resort, where you get a gardener plus pool boys, valet, and hotel amenities. Condo resort residences are typically not rented as part of the hotel rental program and are often in a separated area from traditional hotel or resort guests.
Condo Hotel: A condo resort residence within a hotel, rented nightly by the hotel management team while you are back at the office. Looks and feels like a condo, with multiple rooms, typically larger than 600 square feet, all amenities and services of the hotel.
Hotel Condo: Legally a condo within a commercial hotel, looks and feels like a hotel room or suite. Typically smaller than 600 square feet and does not have a kitchen. Often used as a pied Terre, a shorter stay vacation or second home, or a base camp for luxury living. Comes equipped with hotel rental program when you are back at the office or in your other hotel condo getaway locations.
Deeded Timeshare: Shared real or deeded real estate ownership and use rights of real property for a specific period of time. Often in vacation or resort markets. Most often refers to 1/52 share or 1 week of ownership rights. When sold as 1/52 share, the real estate value is often diluted by as much as 50% - i.e. a furnished $250,000 whole ownership condominium, which is converting and sold as timeshare will be sold at $9,600 per week ($9,600 x 52 = $500,000). As much as 50% of the retail cost of a timeshare covers sales, marketing and management expenses, because timeshare is more than real estate ownership it is a lifestyle product. $10 billion in timeshare was sold in 2006, up from $8.6 billion in 2005, this is a booming market.
Un-deeded “Points” Timeshare: Same as deeded timeshare, except the consumer receives a ‘right to use’ a property for a specific, typically long-term, period of time - i.e. 1 week of use for the next 10 years.
Vacation Clubs: Functions similar to a timeshare, club management buy timeshare interests from several resorts and then offers this time to club members. Club members do not get property deeds, but they do enjoy large discounts on vacation housing costs. Clubs are growing in popularity.
Fractional Ownership: Timeshare in bigger slices of ownership, and therefore more real estate at a value closer to whole ownership pricing. Fractional is typically ¼ to 1/13 share of deeded real property ownership. Fractional owners get a deeded ownership interest in a particular condo unit or property, when they come for their use time, this is solely the unit they use. ‘Why buy a whole pie if you only want a piece?’
40,000 households own fractional real estate, this is only 1% of the top earning households, fractional is poised for substantial growth.
Non-Traditional Fractional (NTF): Fractional shares smaller than 1/13 to 1/26 share. Bigger shares than timeshare, smaller than traditional fractional, 3.5 weeks or 2 weeks of use. NTF is often found in private residence club structures.
Private Residence Club: Fractional ownership in a resort project, with a deed to a particular condo, but with the right to use any available condo in the resort or a number of resorts within the club association.
Bob Waun is the author of a new book on this trend called: “Besting” http://www.betternesting.com . He is CEO of Vacation Finance, America’s First Second-Home Lender and a leader in the resort and second home industries.
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 8:30 pm. 0 comments
We all know about cutting coupons. I’m not sure how many of us actually do it in this fast-paced day that we live in. I know that sometimes I am guilty of passing by my Sunday paper thinking I’m too busy, too tired, or just too lazy to go through the trouble. But with the recent rise in grocery prices to almost ridiculous levels (over $2 for a carton of eggs?) I am convinced that there is time to do things right. I just don’t have over $150 for five days worth of groceries. So, being the frugal mom that I am, I’ve come up with several sure fire ways to cut weekly grocery spending. Stretching the almighty dollar is the name of the game.
Cutting Coupons - Yes, it may be a bit time consuming, but if done right it can be well worth the extra ten minutes per week that it takes you. The golden rule when cutting coupons is to avoid the temptation to cut coupons for things that you don’t already use. I’ve fallen into this trap upon occasion and it’s never paid off. Once, while printing coupons online I saw a coupon for $3 off a certain brand of frozen chicken. I’d never bought it before, but thinking it must be a fabulous deal, I proceeded to print at least ten of these little gems. I was going to stock up! When I finally found the item at the third grocery store I checked, it was astronomically priced. Even with the $3 off, that still didn’t bring it down to a reasonable price. So much for savings! All I did was burn gas.
Compare Everyday Prices - Another thing I’ve found to be true is that regardless of the coupon amount, you will only achieve the best deal if you compare the price of the item you have a coupon for with the normal everyday grocery price of the other similar items. For instance, if I have a coupon for 50 cents off of two cans of Del Monte green beans, which retails for 89 cents per can, but the store brand green beans are 50 cents per can, then I really haven’t gotten my best deal if I bought the Del Monte brand. Checking the everyday prices of the foods at your local grocery store is an invaluable tool to bringing down your weekly grocery bill. By doing this you can also determine which grocer in your area has the “overall” lowest prices. Sometimes I’ve been lured into a particular store by the sale ads only to realize later that the prices of everything else is 5-15% higher than another grocer in my area. If you check a grocery price book on the internet, you can compare the “everyday grocery prices” of popular stores. They also have a large selection of printable coupons that change regularly. Once you get into the routine of checking this site, it will become second nature and weekly trips to the grocer can actually become an enjoyable experience again, instead of a worrisome guessing game.
Some things I will switch brands on. Laundry detergent, cleaners and shampoos, for instance. I simply go for the best deal. I’m not loyal to a particular brand when it comes to these items.
Grocery prices continue to climb, without a real end in sight. With this in mind, we can’t afford not to adopt new ways to save. The basic two that will reduce the most off your bottom line are cutting coupons and comparing everyday grocery prices. Happy shopping!
Katelyn Grace Willett is a busy mom of two boys. She recommends saving time while saving money by checking her favorite coupon forum, TheCouponCupboard.com and comparing grocery prices at GroceryPriceBooks.com.