Ran across the Consumerist on Survival Blog and thought it a useful tool for those who are concerned with both saving money and receiving good value when money has to spent.
Their Shrink Ray is both funny and sad and illustrates "how" Large Food Corporations change weights and amounts of ingredients but use the same size packaging. Any consumer or modern Alpha Strategist needs to know that information as per unit cost is one of the keys to savings and value.
Ah, Unemployment, the new American Pandemic, a terrible affliction that has reached my doorstep in the form of losing my job in the down economy. Fortunately I had a month and half of lead time before the closure and put it to work via stocking up on goods that would have to be purchased with expensive but cheap money over the upcoming months whilst the job search, or new venture is launched.
Expensive but cheap money, one asks, isn't that an oxymoron?
Allow me to explain, right now after years of working the household is well stocked with the items that make a home a home, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, soap, toilet paper etc. as time rolls forward those items will be depleted through normal usage, to purchase replacement items two months from now, with dwindling cash reserves is quite expensive when there is no other income coming into the home. But the money is "cheap" as it was created out of nothing at all but a vague promise of "full faith and credit".
By purchasing those household items over the past two years, in bulk, the Alpha Strategy helped me to avoid the "Expensive but Cheap" conundrum, as well as sidestepping the 10% inflation on those items that has bumped prices upwards.
Reviewing my notes from 2008, a jumbo box of Surf detergent at Sam's Club in 2008 cost 14.54, today they cost over 17.00, so every box of Surf purchased in 2008 has made around 3 dollars per box..not to bad a ROI.
There is one item that has retreated in price due to Govt Subsidies, Light Bulbs, in 2009 those mercury filled, energy efficient bulbs were 9 dollars for a pack of 8, now they are 3 dollars for a pack of 8 due to Subsidies from the Govt.
Win some, lose some.
