Monday, July 13, 2009

Bridgewater Bits & Pieces

Back to School -- So Soon! The advertising supplements in this weekend’s newspapers (also known as free-standing inserts, or FSI’s) indicate a very early start for back-to-school shopping. The insert for Target has great values: only 50¢ for a pack of 20 Bic Cristal ballpoint pens – same price for a 24/pack of #2 pencils, etc. See the flyer for more good stuff.

The Staples insert features an 8/pack of pencils for 1¢, limit 2 packs per customer. For just a buck, you can purchase a 6/pack of Sharpie Accent highlighters, etc. There’s a coupon on the front page of the FSI for $5 off any in-store purchase of $20 or over. Other bargain-priced items, including electronic paraphernalia are also featured. ‘Easy rebates’ may apply to some of these purchases.

The insert for Best Buy, where Priscille once purchased a Kodak printer as a gift, features many good deals. (Microsoft is promoting a free upgrade to its new operating system, MS Windows 7, by mail, with all qualifying PC purchases.) Go directly to Microsoft’s web site for info about this new release, or Google “Windows 7 upgrade” for additional sources of information.

The Bed, Bath and Beyond insert offers practical back-to-college items. For example, a campus security safe equipped with an anchor for the storage of small valuable items sells for $19.99.

Depressed Real Estate: An attractive Bridgewater colonial in the northern section of the township which once would easily have fetched well over $500,000 was placed on the market early this year for $489,000. This well-designed and landscaped property is now offered at $439,000, a clear signal that the descent of housing prices in Bridgewater has not been arrested.

There is little that Washington can do about this, except to wait for the flood waters of the financial crisis to recede from their overflow levels and return to the main river channel. Nonetheless, national lending institutions may still be hoarding too much cash and prolonging the problem.

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