Karen’s View

Are you hoping to start saving more money in the New Year? If so then you should make a single phrase your new shopping motto. That phrase is “never pay retail prices”.

Ways to avoid paying retail prices include:

• Shop used. Buy everything from your cars to your clothes secondhand and you will save a lot of money on all of your shopping needs.
• Buy through auctions. You will discover that eBay and other online auction sites are your best friends if you don’t want to pay full retail price for new and used items.
• Go to the outlet malls. Get items that are brand new but cost a lot less when you shop at the right stores.
• Buy in bulk. Get a lower price on items when you buy them in bulk. If you’re smart then you’ll even buy in bulk with items that you don’t need a lot of and then sell off the extras to make back some of your money.
• Find wholesale dealers. Do you buy a lot of one specific item? Let’s say that you love candles. Find a wholesale candle dealer and learn how to buy wholesale from them. You’ll save a lot of money on items that you buy frequently this way.

Make it your motto not to pay full retail price this year and you’ll save a lot of money.

Technorati Tags: candles, wholesale candle

If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up a decade ago, I really had no idea.  For me, life was just too busy, and I really didn’t have any time to think about what I wanted to do – instead I had to work to pay the bills.

But after having some successes with my career, and paying off my house, all of a sudden I found that I had some extra money that I could use to pursue my interests.  I had always been interested in cooking, but never had any time to work on increasing my skills, so I thought that I could take some night classes at one of the chef schools in town, and do something for me for a change.

The funny thing is that I didn’t know what to expect as I knew no one that had ever attended any Culinary arts institutes.  So it was going to be a completely new experience for me.

For example, our second class taught us about the proper way to slice vegetables, and as it turns out I had been doing it wrong for my entire life.  I had no idea that there was a right and wrong way, but I suppose that is why you go to school, right?

Anyway, though there has been a lot to learn, it has been a blast.  I never realized that doing something you love could be so fun.

Technorati Tags: chef schools, culinary arts institutes

After spending the last seven years selling hearing aids for a major retailer, I was offered the opportunity to teach a training seminar at every store across the country.  I jumped at the chance to get paid to travel, but I quickly realized that I had a lot to do.

Even though the company had some training materials already prepared, they had not been updated in nearly five years, so much of the information was not current anymore.  In fact, most of the hearing aids comparisons found in the old materials were of products that are no longer on the market.

I had six months to come up with new training materials for the company and I knew that it would be a lot of work.  I was not going to be teaching a simple two hour workshop, as it was going to be a weekend event at each location.  The idea was to ensure that everyone within our organization were experts and should be able to answer any question asked by the customers.

It only took four months to get everything together and create my presentation.  With that behind me, I took the time to practice my dialogue in the comfort of my own home, so that I would come across confident and organized.

Even though I felt some fear as I neared the first seminar, now, just five seminars later, I feel a rush standing up there in front of the crowd.  Teaching others about something I am passionate about feels great!

Technorati Tags: hearing aids, hearing aids comparisons

What do you know about light ballasts? If you’re like most people then you don’t really know a whole lot about them at all. If you browse through questions on your Internet you will discover that the top five questions about light ballasts are all very basic.

Those five most common questions are:

1. What is a light ballast? This very basic question is the number one question that people have when they head to the web to learn more about light ballasts.
2. How do you change or replace a light ballast? People who already know what a light ballast is usually want to know how to fix, change or replace one that they own.
3. How do you install a light ballast? People who are just getting this product for the first time are not at all sure how to install it. They may also ask how to wire a light ballast which is a very similar question.
4. How does a light ballast work? Some people are mostly interested in the science and technology behind this product. They want to know the inner workings of it.
5. Which ballast should I choose? People may ask about specific types or brands like a Fulham Ballast or a Metal Halide Ballast. Or they may ask a general question about choosing this product.

Technorati Tags: Fulham Ballast, Metal Halide Ballast

People who are involved in the business of building are often interested in green building practices. They typically will get LEED training so that they can become a LEED Green Associate. Once they accomplish this goal, they often begin to wonder if they should be doing anything else. The answer is definitely yes.

You can never know enough about green building practices. Even if you achieve the rank of Green Building Associate, there will always be new advances in green technology that you will want to learn. That’s why many of the schools that offer LEED training are now also offering advanced green building courses for people who are already leed certified but who don’t want to stop learning.

The courses that people take after they have already become Green Building Associates are typically very specific classes in niche topics of green building. For example, someone might sign up for a two-day intensive workshop in improving indoor air quality in buildings. Or they may take a class in water conservation for builders. These are things that may get touched upon in the basic LEED training course but will be explored in much greater depth in subsequent classes. By taking such classes, green builders keep themselves on top of the latest green building news and ahead of the competition in the green building industry.

Technorati Tags: leed green associate, leed training