Money Sense Tips

Cleaning is a necessary chore if we want our homes to look presentable. In your monthly budget you can save money on cleaning supplies with a few simple tips.

All those television commercials tout the latest and greatest cleaning solution. “If you want to remove tough stains fast, try this product.” “If you want to stop grease sticking to your kitchen surfaces, spray with this product first.”

The advertisements are everywhere. But before you go out and spend your hard-earned money on something that may or not prove worthy of your time and elbow grease, here are some suggestions for you.

* Buy in bulk – Stores usually give you a discount when you buy more than one of a product. If you have a cleaning solution that you have used for years and it still works for you, then you know that you will always need it. Stocking up saves money in the long run.

* Do a little research – Just what is in those cleaning products? This is as much for you to save money as it is for the environment. Cleaners with bleach are expensive. Why not just use the bleach yourself? Lots of ingredients are just for smell or to help bind together the other compounds.

* Make your own household cleaners – This is not as hard as it sounds. You will not be Doctor Frankenstein cooking up something dangerous in the lab. Do you have a bottle of bleach? Mixing it with four parts water to one part bleach can make an excellent disinfectant for cleaning your shower curtains and your tub. Add a little to dish water to remove tough, baked-on stains in pans.

What about lemon juice? It is citric acid and can be used to cut grease. Simply squeeze some juice concentrated onto grease stains or mix it with warm water in a spray bottle and apply. Let sit and you can then use a sponge or damp sponge to remove that grease.

Don’t stop now. There is also white vinegar. It has many uses, which includes taking foul odors out of rugs and furniture where you have spills. It can also be mixed with warm water to clean your linoleum flooring. Mix it with water in a spray bottle and use it to clean your windows. You can also use ammonia and water. Dry with a piece of newspaper.

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* Clean regularly – An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as they say. Cleaning surfaces when spills occur or keeping to a set schedule for weekly chores prevents the build-up of hard water stains, soap scum, grease and the like. Milder cleaning products, like homemade ones, can be quite effective for regular cleaning without all the blood, sweat and tears.

Are you looking to save money on cleaning? Don’t go get a maid service. Create your own cleaning products, clean often and buy store cleaners in bulk.

The best thing about shopping at a flea market is the ability to talk dealers down on their prices. Many dealers do not set their prices in stone, only as a bargaining tactic. Read on to find out how to get the biggest bargain when you visit the next flea market.

Arriving early at the flea market ensures that you will have the first view of the wares. Arriving early is also a great way to save money. Many dealers remain at the flea markets until their wares are sold or the market closes – whichever comes first. If you can get to the flea market early, you may be able to bargain on an item you like.

Just as arriving early can benefit you, so can arriving late in some instances. If you visit the flea market late, you will see that most dealers are trying harder to push their wares before the market closes. You are likely to be able to negotiate smarter if a dealer is desperate to make money.

Dressing casually can actually help you to bargain better. If you visit a flea market dressed up in your professional clothes or dressy clothes, you will find that many dealers will see dollar signs and try to take advantage of you. Dressing casually will help prevent this. Dealers will see you as a regular customer and be more willing to bargain.

Haggling is a method of talking a dealer down from their listed prices. Most of the time, listed prices are an introduction to bargaining – not necessarily what a dealer expects to get for an item. Try your hand at negotiating. If you are not very good at it, bring along a friend or family member who is.

If you look too interested in a product, you will probably find that the dealer is not willing to relent on price or will only knock off a dollar or two. Feigning disinterest is a proven tactic to getting a dealer to lower his or her prices. By pretending you could do without the item, even if you are secretly coveting it, you open the doors to communication and therefore negotiation.

Visiting a flea market promises to bring some good deals, if you know where to look and how to bargain. Keep in mind when you visit a flea market that typically the list prices are not what the dealer expects to get for the item. This will open the doors to negotiations and bring you, hopefully, a great score.