Pocket Change - Shopping Blog

I’d like to begin this week’s carnival with a bit of sobering news: KFC’s logo is now visible from space. Along with the Great Wall of China and the pyramids, aliens will now be able to see the symbol of the other great marvel of our civilization: fried things.

So.

Wenchypoo has a great post on the advantages of energy-efficient appliances. As a cash-poor (but rich in love) renter, I buy a lot of things off of craigslist, but appliances aren’t one of them, unless they’re quite new. They’re literally getting more and more efficient every year. A ten-year-old dryer may look relatively modern, but you may pay more in energy costs over its lifetime than it would cost to buy a new, more efficient one. Those free refrigerators and air conditioners on craigslist are really nothing of the sort.

Speaking of the environment, Vihar at green|rising has an interesting post on the problems that a new, purportedly environmentally-friendly plastic is encountering on the recycling end. Apparently it doesn’t contain an oil base so it can’t be recycled with current plastics. Kind of a weird situation from all sides–while the recycling industry does need to adapt to keep up with technology, it’s kind of surprising that the company (Cargill/NatureWorks) didn’t figure this kind of thing out BEFORE they introduced the plastic to the market.

Supermom says gift-giving for teens is easy, and I agree. $8.99 for a 12-pack of Bud Light makes you the world’s coolest aunt like THAT.

Something I’m very grateful to Safeway for is that they almost always post the per-weight or per-count price on the shelf, which makes it easy both to compare name brands to generics and to compare different sizes of the same brand. Steve at Debt Free points out that the larger size is not always a better deal.

Matt Hutter has some good tips on how to save a few bucks when something goes wrong at a restaurant. My favorite technique of leering at the next table and loudly declaring, “I want to buy your women! How much for the leetle girl?” is not discussed.

And hey, the next time you have a month off, makingourway has crunched the numbers on what a full month vacation in Chicago will cost you–about $4,500, it turns out. He’d better get it in quick, though–it was a balmy 48° today. (By contrast, it was 65° and sunny today here in Mountain View. And you wonder why no one can afford houses here.)

Dreah, an Associated Content writer, has some good mall-walking advice. (I know what you’re thinking, and I, too, was skeptical of a site called Associated Content. I poked around, though, and they actually seem to be a pretty legit publishing platform with an unfortunate name. I almost balked at the name out of hand until I remembered that I write a blog for a shopping site and am pretty much the definition of “lame tool.”)

Trisha at Omiru reports on another poll saying that trapeze silhouettes are (just barely) “in.” Click over–I didn’t know what they were until I did, but I recognize that piece of clothing! In fact, I actually think they’re kind of hot–which, I would imagine, means they’re on their way out.

And finally, Cecilia at Little Ida recommends Monyette Paris perfume. She says it smells of “Tahitian Gardenia and French Muguet” and that it’s favored by Oprah Winfrey and Gwen Stefani, so if you’re trying to attract floraphiliacs, 45-year-old women or 13-year-old girls, this is the perfume for you.

I remain, yours, with bells on,

Aram