What Are The Greatest Changes In Shopping In Your Lifetime

What are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime? So asked my 9 year old grandson.

As I thought of the question the local Green Grocer came to mind. Because that is what the greatest change in shopping in my lifetime is.

That was the first place to start with the question of what are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime.

Our local green grocer was the most important change in shopping in my lifetime. Beside him was our butcher, a hairdresser and a chemist.

Looking back, we were well catered for as we had quite a few in our suburb. And yes, the greatest changes in shopping in my lifetime were with the small family owned businesses.

Entertainment While Shopping Has Changed
Buying butter was an entertainment in itself.
My sister and I often had to go to a favourite family grocer close by. We were always polite as we asked for a pound or two of butter and other small items.

Out came a big block of wet butter wrapped in grease-proof paper. Brought from the back of the shop, placed on a huge counter top and included two grooved pates.

That was a big change in our shopping in my lifetime… you don’t come across butter bashing nowadays.

Our old friendly Mr. Mahon with the moustache, would cut a square of butter. Lift it to another piece of greaseproof paper with his pates. On it went to the weighing scales, a bit sliced off or added here and there.

Our old grocer would then bash it with gusto, turning it over and over. Upside down and sideways it went, so that it had grooves from the pates, splashes going everywhere, including our faces.

My sister and I thought this was great fun and it always cracked us up. We loved it, as we loved Mahon’s, on the corner, our very favourite grocery shop.

Grocery Shopping
Further afield, we often had to go to another of my mother’s favourite, not so local, green grocer’s. Mr. McKessie, ( spelt phonetically) would take our list, gather the groceries and put them all in a big cardboard box.

And because we were good customers he always delivered them to our house free of charge. But he wasn’t nearly as much fun as old Mr. Mahon. Even so, he was a nice man.

All Things Fresh
So there were very many common services such as home deliveries like:

• Farm eggs

• Fresh vegetables

• Cow’s milk

• Freshly baked bread

• Coal for our open fires

Delivery Services
A man used to come to our house a couple of times a week with farm fresh eggs.

Another used to come every day with fresh vegetables, although my father loved growing his own.

Our milk, topped with beautiful cream, was delivered to our doorstep every single morning.

Unbelievably, come think of it now, our bread came to us in a huge van driven by our “bread-man” named Jerry who became a family friend.

My parents always invited Jerry and his wife to their parties, and there were many during the summer months. Kids and adults all thoroughly enjoyed these times. Alcohol was never included, my parents were teetotallers. Lemonade was a treat, with home made sandwiches and cakes.

The coal-man was another who delivered bags of coal for our open fires. I can still see his sooty face under his tweed cap but I can’t remember his name. We knew them all by name but most of them escape me now.

Mr. Higgins, a service man from the Hoover Company always came to our house to replace our old vacuum cleaner with an updated model.

Our insurance company even sent a man to collect the weekly premium.

People then only paid for their shopping with cash. This in itself has been a huge change in shopping in my lifetime.

In some department stores there was a system whereby the money from the cash registers was transported in a small cylinder on a moving wire track to the central office.

Some Of The Bigger Changes
Some of the bigger changes in shopping were the opening of supermarkets.

• Supermarkets replaced many individual smaller grocery shops. Cash and bank cheques have given way to credit and key cards.

• Internet shopping… the latest trend, but in many minds, doing more harm, to book shops.

• Not many written shopping lists, because mobile phones have taken over.

On a more optimistic note, I hear that book shops are popular again after a decline.

Personal Service Has Most Definitely Changed
So, no one really has to leave home, to purchase almost anything, technology makes it so easy to do online.
And we have a much bigger range of products now, to choose from, and credit cards have given us the greatest ease of payment.

We have longer shopping hours, and weekend shopping. But we have lost the personal service that we oldies had taken for granted and also appreciated.

Because of their frenetic lifestyles, I have heard people say they find shopping very stressful, that is grocery shopping. I’m sure it is when you have to dash home and cook dinner after a days work. I often think there has to be a better, less stressful way.

My mother had the best of both worlds, in the services she had at her disposal. With a full time job looking after 9 people, 7 children plus her and my dad, she was very lucky. Lucky too that she did not have 2 jobs.

Finding Business Loans Online – Financing As Close As Your Fingertips

The Internet is the best place for the consumer to find extensive availability of loans, make an informed decision and apply without leaving their home or office. In the past, a prospective business owner had to physically go to a financial institution in person to apply for loans. At the bank or lending institution, they were given a sheaf of papers to complete and often wasted valuable time waiting around bank approval. This process was boring, time inefficient and daunting. Enter the better way: loans online. Courtesy of the Internet, the business entrepreneur can sit at home and go through the entire loan application process online, at any time of day or night. The consumer is offered choices and given the ability to check and compare multiple loan offers.There are various options to financing a small business, which is the purpose of this article, to assist in researching and securing loans conveniently. Depending on the development stage of your small-business idea, you will have different financing requirements than other small businesses.Can you create and customize a loan to suit your needs? One of the answers can be found at a website representing a company called simply Business Finance. This site can help you determine what specific sources of financing are needed, and how the requirements are related to the state of your small business both financially and growth-wise. Business Finance does give a variety of descriptions on the different classes of financing available for small businesses. This enables the loan applicant to better categorize the sort of options for which to apply. Serving as an intermediary for roughly 400 lenders, this website also provides a tool to assist in determining the amount of money you might need to borrow. Lenders will vary as far as loan requirements, but this website offers a description of lending requirements. Not your only source, but one of the best, this website has been focused upon creating opportunities in this relatively new market.The second company that is also greatly beneficial in helping to shop and create financing packages is supported by America One Unsecured Loans. This company specializes in start-up and fast-track loans. A small business entrepreneur seeking money in the form of an unsecured loan can find this an indispensable source to assist with financing needs. At America One, they seem to understand just how frustrating it is to find financing and complete a loan in today’s economic environment. Their specialty product is a signature loan that can be used for any purpose, with no collateral required. Approval is based upon current credit standing.This online resource does offer a very fast turnaround time in regard to approval or denial so that if your need is time-sensitive, an answer is fairly immediate. The turnaround time as listed on the website is one to three days. Once approved, this America One Unsecured Loan can be in the form of unsecured debt, and collateral such as equity in a home may not be needed.Remember that when shopping for small-business loans online, make sure that the financing fits your business requirements and plans for future development.

Red Flags When Buying Online Health Insurance

In the past, without the Internet, everything is done via the telephone or person-to-person meeting. If you need to buy an accessory for your car, you will have to drive to the car accessories store and make the purchase. If you are hungry you need to go to the restaurant or fast food chain to order and get your food. If you need to meet with a client overseas, you will have to book a flight to go to that country.That was in the past. Today, many thanks to the Internet, everything is done online. For anything you need, an online store is offering and you don’t have to get up from your chair to do that. All it takes is a click of the button on your computer screen. Even buying health insurance plan for yourself or your family can be done online. The information available online is enormous and there are hundreds of that offer online health insurance. But buying health insurance cannot be compared to other products offered online; it is a serious matter and as such it requires providing some personal information through the website to facilitate the processing of your request for quote or application.While buying online health insurance can be convenient and fast, there are some things you need to watch out for. You should be able to detect red-flag signs before you get to the stage of finally making the purchase. Check the list below:1. Be doubtful about the reputation of any website that does not post their physical address and contact details. With such information posted on their site, you can physically inspect the office or address instead of just calling the phone. Sites that don’t provide these details should be avoided.2. All selling agents – whether online or offline will be required by law to employ registered insurance agents to sell these services in whichever manner. If an insurer’s agent declines to give their full details, it’s a warning bell. With their full details you will be able to check with the licensing department if he or she is indeed a licensed agent.3. Any website should be able to provide you with full details on the coverage and what are not covered by the plan that you are planning to buy. If the insurer cannot provide you with such details, end the transaction.4. Reputable online insurance providers will enforce strict confidentiality with respect to any personal information or detail you are providing them relevant to your application. It is important that you read their privacy policy to see their procedures and protocols upon receipt of the confidential information. Any website that does not have the icon (lock symbol) or other indicators of security on their webpage should be avoided. They should place high priority on the security of information passed to them.5. You should receive the original insurance policy and not just the printed form even if you have purchased an online health insurance. The Internet is just a tool used for the initial sales transactions. All the legal documents that need to be signed should be original and carries the insurer’s company seal with the company’s authorized signature. Be sure to check all the documents carefully to make sure they are legitimate documents from the insurer.It may be daunting and a little intimidating when you shop for health insurance online but it’s the easiest and fastest way for you to collect the information, assistance and selection you need. You just need to be observant and extra careful when dealing with just the screen of your desktop.