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.

Trust Deed Investors: One Way to Get Investment Income in a Low Return Environment

It is most generally acknowledged that the person’s early years such as the twenties is the best time to start investing. After all, you have all of life ahead to invest money which is why so many books on investment – most actually – are geared towards the twenties. Fewer are towards the thirties, and even fewer towards the forties and retirement. This may be partly why trust deed investing is so appealing. In today’s low-return low-interest-rate environment, trust deed investing is one of the few investment options that can help you substantially increase the amount of your monthly income. And little expense is involved. (Although risk is another matter).What is trust deed investment?Trust deeds are like a private real estate loan. If you’re a real estate entrepreneur (for instance) who wants to snap a fast loan to rehab a piece of property in order to sell at a profit, trust deed investors may be your best choice. They’d give you the loan in a blink’s eye far faster than the bank where it takes drawn out negotiations and filing of hefty tomes until you get that loan. (If at all). The average amount of time is 60 days. Some entrepreneurs cannot wait that long. They need to snap that deal and that’s where the trust deed investor comes in handy. He forks over your required funds within that same week, sometimes that same day at 1/3rd of the paperwork and nil of the stress. The downside is that the borrower pays a much higher rate than he might for a mortgage, typically 8% to 12% (since the investor is taking more of a risk).How does it work?The process is such that the buyer works through a third-party loan originator who underwrites and facilitates the loan for one year. Schedules can be restructured, but generally the borrower makes interest-only payments each month and a balloon payment of the principal once the loan reaches its maturity.So let’s say you’re the investor and you fund 250,000 at 10% APR, you’ll either receive 12 interest payments of $2,083 each, totaling $25,000, and at the end of the year, get back your $250,000. Or, in the worst case scenario, you pocket the defaulting borrower’s land.Other things you’ll want to know…There’s no set minimum for investing in a single trust deed. They can be fractionalized – that is, divided into several portions – but loan originators generally prefer to deal with one investor per loan.Finding trust deeds to invest in can be difficult. Your best bet may be to find an experienced broker or advisor with a history of success. These have likely established relationships with originators and you can work through them. If you don’t want to hunt these deals down, you might invest in a trust deed fund run by a professional manager. These funds currently pay between 8% and 11% per year and have minimum investment amounts that start around $50,000.To acquire credibility, you may want to consider running for SEC licensing.Pluses of investing in trust deedsThe pluses are particularly topical now with the Fed hiking its interest rates and maybe hiking them still higher. Trust deed investments protect you from the shenanigans for rising rates because they’re held to maturity and have short durations. You can also use any sort of cash to invest. You automatically have the right to foreclose on any property when the borrower has defaulted on the loan. Trust deed investing can open the door to other investment opportunities. It also offers a return on investment that comes in at higher than average; expect a typical return of 9 to 14 percent. And, if managed well, this type of investing is secure. This is because it has a guaranteed yield.Minuses of investing in trust deedsThe obvious minus is the very likely possibility of your investment defaulting, namely the borrower not paying you back. This happens to approximately 85 % of private money lenders at some time in their lives, some more than others. Redfin, a residential real estate company that provides web-based real estate database and brokerage services, predicts that it is going to happen to many more this coming year when housing prices are going to lurch beyond restraintManaging risk…How can you prevent losing your money? Experts strongly advise lenders to research client’s credit history and trustworthiness. They also recommend that you research the value of the client’s property and the extraneous market environment to the point that you physically investigate the building yourself. If you’re not up to this, consider hiring an advisor with experience in this market. Before you invest, analyze a fund’s portfolio and the loan loss reserves. As with individual trust deeds, you may want to have a professional do this.In short…NerdWallet, one of the leading advisory websites on investments has this to say: If you exercise due caution, trust deed investments can be a great income generator at a time when investments that produce good returns are few and far between.You may want to consider it.

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.