Are you picky?

Hey! I'm so glad you're here! Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee or whatever you prefer and make yourself comfortable. I hope you enjoy your visit. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for stopping by!

I don’t know about you, but I am picky. Well, with certain things anyway. But as a graphic designer, sometimes that’s a necessary fault. (Being too picky, though, can be more than just annoying to everyone else around you.)

I mean, do you ever *know* exactly what you want and then, you can’t find it? That seems to happen to me on a regular basis with design stuff. I’m thinkin’ that makes me a bit picky. Hopefully not too picky. Just picky enough to be decisive.

With the rising price of gas, groceries and other necessary items, I think we’re at a time in history where it definitely pays to be picky. Whether you’re fortunate enough to be in a spot where money isn’t a huge concern or you’re in a spot where penny pinching means the difference between eating or not eating, being a good steward of your money is important. This means more and more that one must be picky about products and services bought each month.

Because of health (allergies and kids w/ADD) issues, we’ve always been fairly careful with what we purchase but I’ve noticed in the past few months that the those dollars just don’t stretch as far as they used to. I’ve also noticed some manufacturers changing their products. I don’t know if that’s a result of the changing economy, but for someone who has to be careful of allergens, I find myself reading and re-reading labels constantly. Every time I have to change the products I buy as a result, it often ends up costing more.

Now, I try to buy organic products and other items that are all natural, sugar free and the like. (Those items just always seem to cost more anyway.) But in order to be a good steward of my families money, I’m going to have to try some alternatives. Here are things I’m planning to do:

• Plant a vegetable garden
• Buy from local farmers markets
• Buy environmentally safe products that are concentrated (so they last longer)
• Ensure we eat a balanced diet
• Drink plenty of water
• Use coupons (manufacturer and store issued)
• Shop for the best deals overall
• Walk when feasible instead of drive

Are you becoming more conscientious of the products you buy? If so, what are you doing to stretch your dollars? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

In the arena,

Annie

By the way – if this is your first time here, or you haven’t done so yet, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed. You can use any feed reader you wish.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.