5 Things You Should Know – Part 37

Here are this week’s 5 Things You Should Know.

01. Finding the right time to buy a product using price trackers

There are a lot of price trackers out there. I will list a few here

• Camelcamelcamel.com
• Thetracktor.com
• Chintzee.com
• Keepa.com
• Pricetracker24.net
• Pcpartpicker.com for PC related products
• Appshopper.com for apps
• Mypricetrack.com
• Cheapshark.com for games
• Decide.com for electronics and appliances

Some of them support multiple sites as well as multiple countries while others are limited to Amazon US only. To keep track of a particular product, just go to any of the above trackers, search for the product and enter your email address or twitter id and the desired price in the specific fields. Its that simple. Here’s an example.

Just enter the required information and you are good to go. Once you do that you will be notified as soon as the product reaches the desired price you mentioned. The best time to buy a product is when it reaches its lowest historical price. Of course it may take a few months, and is only good for products that you don’t require immediately. But if done right, it can save you a lot of money.

02. How to make your farts less smelly

Bismuth subgallate, an “internal deodorant” to make flatulence less smelly.

If you’ve ever eaten something that has disagreed with your GI tract, essentially turning you into a walking fart factory, bismuth subgallate is here to help. While it may not reduce your gas-load, it will make them less smelly; reducing your paint-peeling winds into a nice spring breeze in your pants.

While there are a few brands which market themselves as an “internal deodorant,” make sure the one your getting actually has bismuth subgallate, instead of something with “all natural cellulose bullsh*t.”

You might notice this stuff is fairly expensive at roughly 20 bucks a bottle. Just understand that each bottle will last a while, especially if you only use it occasionally, such as not wanting to melt the nose off your date after you ate 10 servings of bean dip and chugged 5 gallons of chocolate milk.

03. Many Uses of WD-40

The many uses of WD-40 include;

• Protects silver from tarnishing.
• Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
• Gets oil spots off concrete driveways.
• Gives floors that ‘just-waxed’ sheen without making it slippery.
• Keeps flies off cows.
• Restores and cleans chalkboards.
• Removes lipstick stains.
• Loosens stubborn zippers.
• Untangles jewelry chains.
• Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
• Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
• Keeps ceramic & terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
• Removes tomato stains from clothing.
• Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
• Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
• Keeps scissors working smoothly.
• Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes.
• Gives a children’s play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
• Lubricates gear shift and mower-deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.
• Rids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
• Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
• Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
• Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards and vinyl bumpers.
• Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
• Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
• Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons and bicycles for easy handling.
• Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
• Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
• Removes splattered grease on stove.
• Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
• Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
• Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
• Some folks spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
• The favorite use in the state of New York: WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.
• WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. It’s a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing is not allowed in some states.
• Keeps away chiggers on the kids
• Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately, and stops the itch.
• WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
• Also, if you’ve discovered that you have washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!
• If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.
• WD-40, long known for its ability to remove leftover tape smudges (sticky label tape), is also a lovely perfume and air freshener! Sprayed liberally on every hinge in the house, it leaves that distinctive clean fresh scent for up to two days!
• It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn’t seem to harm the finish and you won’t have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
• Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly. Use WD-40.

04. True cost of raising a child

$245,340 national average (not including college).

I got to wondering how much it actually costs to raise a kid to 18 and thought I’d share what I found. True cost of raising a child. It’s based on the 2013 USDA report but takes into account cost of living in various cities. The national average is $245,340. This is only up to the age of 18, not including cost of college.

I also found this USDA Cost of Raising a Child Calculator which lets you get more granular and input the number of children, number of parents, region, and income. Afterwards you can also customize how much you expect to pay for Housing, Food, Transportation, Clothing, Health, Care, Child Care and Education, and other: “If your yearly expenses are different than average, you can type in your actual expense for a specific budgetary component by just going to Calculator Results, typing in your actual expenses on the results table, and hitting the Recalculate button.”

05. How to prioritize spending your money – a flowchart

CLICK TO ENGLARGE

CLICK TO ENGLARGE

I was working on a flowchart to point friends to who constantly ask how they should spend their money best. This is what I came up with. I would be interested in hearing peoples comments on how to improve this flow chart so it can be used as a teaching tool for individuals who need to learn how to wisely manage and prioritize spending.