Mums Finance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

We have become dedicated online shoppers in recent years, as the majority of consumers have done, and to date we have never had any problems with our orders being processed and despatched however the shipping costs have, from time to time, not fallen into the economic category.

But if you need a particular item then you need it. The only area which we have experienced some let down though is when shopping online from a US based company; you get to the check out only to find they don’t ship outside the United States or, if they do, the costs far outweigh the price of the item/s you want to purchase. It is not uncommon for the postage to cost more than the item.

If you too have experienced this then your problems are solved. Visit the MyUS.com website and sign up for their unique and very cost-effective package and mail forwarding service. All it involves is signing up for your own account and individual US mailing address and they take care of all the rest. As a member you will also get the advantage of vastly discounted shipping rates; of course you will need a credit card but they also accept business checks and paypal  - most people who shop online have either of those anyway.

There is also a range of other services offered; shopping by proxy if you cannot use your foreign credit card with a particular company, fax forwarding and something quite new to me - your own US telephone number. Being abroad should no longer be a barrier now to enjoying the same privileges as US based shoppers.

Sign up for a trial offer and then decide for yourself.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Whilst travelling by plane to Nothern Ireland recently I was flicking through one of those duty-free shopping catalogues the airlines provide; you know the ones, they are always placed right in front of the ’sick bags’ in the seat pocket in front of you.

In the past I never really took much notice of the prices in these catalogues but on this occasion I had been browsing through a perfume shop in the departures lounge before we boarded the plane. I love a nice fragrance and my eye was caught by the new Gucci fragrance and thought how nice it would be have some - but at 76 euros I decided to probably wait until Xmas.

However in the catalogue it was listed for just 56 euros - a saving of 20 euros - and I thought this was great. These days you rarely see little difference between duty-free and the normal retail price but obviously there are still some bargains around. No, I didn’t buy it though - but I am definitely putting it on my wish list for Xmas!

Popularity: 1% [?]

It goes without saying that we all can do with introducing some more healthier elements into our weekly eating habits by including seafood in our diets on a more regualr basis. Statistics show that consuming seafood on a basis of three times a week can vastly improve our health; seafood is great for the brain, is very low in cholesterol and has all those healthy omega oils that our bodies need.

But how it affects you is all in the cookin’. Are you ready to get your friends around for a seafood cook off?

Maybe you are like me in that you have never been all that fussy about eating seafood; fish, oysters, clams…it’s all about the smell and the taste - right…? then I have one suggestion which could change your whole perspective on the way you view les fruits de la mer - take a look at www.GreatAmericanSeafoodCookOff.com and you will find the inspiration to change the way you eat forever.

I have, and my favourite recipe by far is Shrimp and Andouille Cassoulet by Chef Brian Landry and it is all the way from the French-inspired cuisine heaven that is Louisiana.  This is a seafood dish which combines the well known French andouille sausage as well as the creole spices and fat shrimps of Louisiana - the cassoulet is the staple dish of the Languedoc region in France with it’s hearty inclusion of beans and vegetables. The only difference here is that instead of the usual canard (duck) you have the shrimp taking pride of place. This is French cooking with a US twist !

Just looking at the recipe there is nothing I can say that would change about it - except that I would serve a lot of crusty bread torn into chunks for soaking up the juices afterwards. What I like about this is that the chef uses local and regional ingredients in the recipe and this is very important; the French always stick to local ingredients for their regional cuisine and this makes all the difference to the food.

Seafood which is caught locally and cooked on the day promises to be as fresh as possible; I recommend to anyone who wishes to become a seafood eater to visit a restaurant where the chef uses the local catch of the day - choose a dish which contains the ingredients that appeal to you the most and then judge for yourself. When it is cooked fresh and with style and imagination there is no better food for you to eat.

Popularity: 3% [?]