I recently had a reason to do some research into firewood racks. As their name suggests, these products are racks that are designed to hold your firewood. If you’ve never bought this type of product before then you may be wondering what you would look for when choosing such an item. My research has turned up the answer to exactly that question.

Here are ten things that you want to look for when selecting a firewood rack:

1. Size. What size firewood rack do you need? Do you burn wood every day of the year and need a rack that can hold a whole winter’s worth of wood? Or do you just need a small firewood rack that can hold enough wood for a few cold nights?
2. Shape. There are different shapes available for firewood racks. The shapes are mostly decorative but you should still choose what you like.
3. Other decorative features. In addition to the shape of the firewood rack you should look at its general design. Choose one that compliments your other outdoor furniture.
4. Material. You want to get a firewood rack that is durable so that it lasts through the winter even when it’s stacked with heavy wood. Look for steel or some other material that’s designed to last.
5. Cover. You want to make sure that your firewood stays dry or else it won’t be very useful to you. Get a rack with a built-in or add-on cover to make sure the wood doesn’t get wet.
6. Mold-Resistant. Look for a rack and cover that are both resistant to mold.
7. Portability. Do you need a firewood rack that you can move from one place to another throughout the season? If so then you need to get a portable one that has wheels which make it easy to move.
8. Ease of Assembly. If you get a firewood rack that needs to be assembled then you want to make sure it’s one that’s simple to put together!
9. Easy to Access. You want to make sure that the design of your firewood rack makes it so that it’s really simple to access the wood that you need when you want it. Sure, it’s great to have it stacked and covered but what good is that if it’s hard to get to when you need it?
10. Cost. Finally, take a look at cost. Do some shopping around to choose a firewood rack that’s within your budget.

That’s what I would look for if I wanted to buy a firewood rack.

Tags: firewood, firewood rack, shopping, tips

I used to be really opposed to stereotyping anything based on gender. However, over the years, I’ve learned that a lot of the stereotypes that we make provide interesting insight into the differences between men and women. I don’t necessarily think that the stereotypes are all true but they offer generalizations that can lead us to draw some conclusions about different things. This is most true about relationships but it’s also true about other things. For example, there are some stereotypes about shopping habits that are based on gender.

One area of this that interests me is the difference in how men and women shop for consumer electronics. The way that they shop for smartphones, for example, is quite different. Surveys indicate that men are more likely to buy these devices than women are. However, women are more likely to take into account all of the different factors that go into the phone in order to make the best selection.

Women are more interested in all of the different features of these phones. They want a phone that has a good camera, a great text message plan and tons of multimedia features. For this reason, they tend to be pickier about smartphones than men are. It takes them longer to make a decision about these phones and it may mean that they get more confused or frustrated when buying one. As a result, more men have smartphones than women at the current time.

Looking around at the people I know, I’d have to say that these things seem to be true. Most of the women I know either don’t have a smartphone or they took a really long time to choose one. Most of the men that I know do have a smartphone (and frequently upgrade to new ones) but they don’t actually use tons of the features that the phone offers. Hm, interesting.

Tags: gender, kathryn vercillo, men women, mobile phones, shopping, smartphones

I got the chance to spend some time hiking yesterday. It was beautiful out and I had a great time. But going out hiking brought up a problem that’s been plaguing me for literally years now. The problem is that I don’t have good hiking gear even though I hike frequently. Every single time I go out, I say that I’m going to get hiking boots and a good hiking backpack. And then I never actually go get either of them so the next time I go hiking I find myself once again trekking around in my tennies with a school backpack weighing me down.

I’ve finally started looking into different pairs of hiking shoes. I haven’t decided on any yet but am kind of intrigued by the Berghaus brand available through Webtogs. One of the things that caught my attention was their YouTube videos that describe their shoes really well (see the one below to get an idea of what I mean). This seems really helpful since it tells me what to look for in a hiking shoe, something that I’m not really entire sure of.

From the video below, I learned that leather is a good choice for hiking shoes since it’s durable and all-season-friendly. I learned that I want a waterproof hiking shoes (which I supposed I could’ve figured out on my own if I’d thought about it since it does seem like common sense). I want shoes that have good traction so I don’t fall when climbing. And I want a lightweight shoe that’s not going to feel heavy on my feet as I walk.

The coolest thing about this shoe is its advanced lacing system. I’m sure the video describes it better than I can so I’ll just let you watch it but suffice to say that it highlights the fact that there are a lot of great hiking shoe features that I need to take into consideration before I buy my pair. No wonder it’s taken me so long to make a decision on this!

Tags: berghaus, hiking, hiking shoes, kathryn vercillo, shoes, shopping, webtogs

I have been doing a lot of shopping in the past couple of weeks. I hadn’t purchased anything new for awhile because I was focused on frugal living but then it got to the point where there were quite a few things that I really needed (or wanted). Luckily, I’ve been able to find a lot of hot deals so I haven’t spent too much money even though I’ve gotten most of the things that were on the wish list I’d built up when I was in my no-spending phase.

Most people who know me know that I look for good deals when I shop. I love purchasing used items. And I also love buying things online using discounts and promo codes to reduce the cost of the purchase. Because of that, I’m loving a new site that I’ve found recently called Buxr.com. It’s a discount codes site but it has many of the features of a social networking site which makes it unique from a lot of the other promo code sites available.

Some of the key reasons that I like this site include:

• Every member of the site is able to submit coupon deals. One of the best things about online coupons that you don’t get with printed coupons is the ability to share deals with others. This site really takes that to a new level by allowing all users to share deals.

• The members of the site can rate the deals that are submitted. The online discussion and rating of each deal helps me as a shopper to see which deals are worth my time. One of the things that always annoys me a bit about using online coupons is that you sometimes have to try out four or five different coupon codes to find one that works. The conversation about the online coupons on Buxr.com makes it so that this problem can be avoided.

• There are some neat organizational tools on the site. You can create online shopping wishlists on Buxr.com which allows you to stay organized about what you want to buy. This would’ve been really nice for me when I was in my no-spending phase and racking up a big mental list of the things that I wanted.

• The site itself is organized well. You can easily see the latest deals, the about-to-expire deals, the popular coupons and the most recent blog news all on the home page of the site.

• The site has a decent money-saving blog. It’s always good to read about different methods of saving money (something that I read and write about frequently myself) so it’s good to see another blog offering that information as a part of this site.

• You can actually earn money by using the site. There are a variety of different prizes available for being active on the site which means that you don’t just save money with it but also have the opportunity to make money from it. There’s also a Buxr.com widget that online publishers can use to earn money from for promoting the site.

There are a lot of really good sites out there that offer coupon codes. This one just happens to offer a few extra perks and benefits that may make it a better choice than many of the other sites that are available.

Tags: buxr, buxr.com, online shopping, shopping, Social Networking, websites

A lot of people who shop are browsers and impulse buyers. They go out to look around and to see if anything captures their attention and demands to be bought. Smart shoppers don’t do this. Smart shoppers make lists of what they actually need and buy only those items to make sure that they aren’t wasting money on frivolous purchases.

One way to enhance your ability to be this type of smart shopper is to consider the use of mobile classifieds for finding what you want to buy. Classifieds are a great way to find used products at a discount so that you save money on any purchase. Mobile classifieds are even better because they allow you to access the power of classified ads for just those purchases that you actually want to make.

The cool thing about mobile classified sites is that they allow you as a consumer to set up alerts that will notify you via your mobile phone whenever an item that you want has become available. So let’s say that you want a new bed; you enter that information into your account and then you’ll be notified by phone if someone posts a new bed to the site.

This allows you to identify what you actually need to buy. It lets the site do the work of searching for that item so that you don’t get distracted by ads for things that you don’t actually need to purchase. When you receive the alert, you can check the ad and see if it is what you’re looking for. If it is, you can immediately proceed with the purchase. What a great way to get discounted items without caving in to impulse shopping!

Tags: cell phones, classifed ads, kathryn vercillo, mobile classifieds, shopping, spending, Wireless

I do a lot of research into saving money when shopping online. Because of this, I’m constantly looking for news about discount codes and other tools for saving money online. Recent news suggests that college-aged kids are the ones most likely to be interested in using online coupon codes.

This is an example of how technology has taken an old tradition and brought it to the younger generation. Young folks and young couples have traditionally been opposed to “coupon-clipping”. However, now that they’re able to get their coupons online, they are more interested in saving money this way.

Of course, the recession has encouraged all people to start looking at ways of saving money. It just so happens that college-aged kids are most likely to turn to the Internet to do that. As a result, the industry for discount coupons online is growing rapidly.

What’s interesting about the research is that young couples without kids are more likely to use discount codes than are young couples with kids. You would think folks with babies were the ones most interested in saving money wouldn’t you?! Maybe they’re still using the old coupon-clipping method in keeping with tradition. What do you think?

Tags: discount codes, Frugal Living, promotional codes, saving money, shopping, shopping online, trends

I keep trying to reduce what I spend each month so that I can save a little bit of money. It’s a smart thing for anyone to do and it’s really important for those of us who freelance and who therefore may have an unstable income. Unfortunately, I continue to keep over-spending on groceries and dining out even though I’m aware of the fact that this is a problem for me.

It’s not that I don’t know how to save money on food. I’ve written extensively on this topic including recently publishing 20 Simple Tips for Spending Less on Food Without Resorting to Ramen. I’m aware of the tricks and I use some of them on a regular basis. But the fact of the matter is that there are some foods that I like that are expensive and I’m not very good at restraining myself from buying them even though I know that they impact my food budget. Marinated mushrooms and fancy cheeses are two big examples from my kitchen.

The other thing that I do to waste money on food is that I often spend more money than necessary on food for when other people come over. Any time that I’m going to have someone to my house, I buy way too much food – even when it’s for a potluck! I’m always worried that there won’t be enough. It’s something I really need to work on if I want to spend less.

Luckily, the one area that I’m getting good at is saving money on eating out. I’m learning not only to eat out less but also to make smart choices when I do dine out. I always split my meal in half and save part of it for later. I usually skip expensive drinks. And I try to choose affordable restaurants. So I’m getting there. Slowly.

Tags: Food, grocery shopping, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, money, Personal Finance, saving money, shopping, spending money

I don’t think that I’m someone who shops a lot. I don’t buy a lot of new things. I don’t splurge on pricey shoes or go to department stores just because there’s a sale. I don’t even really find shopping to be all that fun despite getting the urge to do it now and then.

And yet, somehow I do end up purchasing new things on a regular basis. I have a closet that is bursting at the seams with clothes. I have more pots and pans than I could possibly use with the little amount that I cook in one sitting. And I almost always go over my set monthly budget for extraneous spending even though the amount I’ve set for myself is definitely liberal.

So do I actually shop a lot? The thing is that I don’t really shop all that much. But I shop sometimes and I’m kind of a packrat even though I try not to be and I end up with way more stuff than one person needs. And I do spend a lot even though I try to be frugal – not so much on new things but on yoga classes and massage and fancy groceries and going out to see artsy things.

Some people have a real addiction to shopping. That’s not me. But I can see how it happens because every single month I justify unnecessary spending by telling myself that I need to buy this for that party or that for this event. I can see how it happens that people make excuses when they really want to spend money that they don’t have.

I think it’s important to be smart about shopping and I think, for the most part, that I am smart about it. But I also think there’s a little bit of that potential for addiction inside of me and I’m just glad that somehow I learned moderation along the way!

Tags: Frugal Living, kathryn vercillo, money, Personal Finance, shopping, shopping addiction

One of the topics that I have been doing a ton of research on lately is the topic of using promotional codes to save money online. It’s something that I do regularly when shopping online at my favorite websites. There are some sites that I just know always have promo codes available (Walgreens which is where I get my photos printed and 1800Flowers which I use to send gifts sometimes).

What I’m learning, though, is that you can basically use online promotional codes for everything. If you know what you’re doing and where to look, you can get discounts on everything from your daily needs (like food) to your ongoing expenses (like car insurance). It seems like it takes some time to research the best places to actually get those discounts but apparently they’re out there.

I’m really just starting to get the hang of figuring out the right use of discount codes. I’ve been doing it for awhile but I’ve found through researching the topic that there is just so much out there to learn. My next step is to really keep up with my RSS feeds from my favorite money saving blogs so that I can get more tips to use in daily life.

Any tips from you readers out there about using online promotional codes or other ways of saving money when doing online shopping?

Tags: Frugal Living, online discount cods, online shopping, promo codes, shopping

Last week I asked the question: how long should you keep your cell phone? As part of a life of frugal living, people should probably try to make their phones last as long as possible so that they aren’t spending more than necessary on new phones and increased phone bills.

Another important question to ask is how much should you pay for your cell phone? What do you think is a reasonable price to pay for a device? And is your decision impacted by the monthly cost of services on that phone?

I did a Nokia N97 review recently which highlighted all of the reasons that a lot of people are really interested in this new phone which is set to come out in the summer. But there are rumors going around that the phone is going to have an outrageous price of $1000. Even if those rumors are incorrect, the price is likely to be at least half that. Is $500 too much to pay for a cell phone?

I come from the school of frugal living as far as phones go. I try to keep both the cost of the phone itself down and also try to limit my monthly spending. However, I do think that it’s sometimes wortwhile to pay for added convenience which is probably why so many people are footing the bill for the advanced smartphones that can do so much more than a basic cell phone can. So it’s a balancing act, I guess.

What is the most that you would pay for a cell phone?

Tags: cell phones, cost of phones, Frugal Living, mobile phones, phones, price of phones, shopping, spending, what to pay for phone, Wireless