5 Ways to Save Money on Your Office Gadgets {Guest Post}
David Bakke is a small business owner, Internet reseller, and contributor for the popular personal finance blog, Money Crashers.
Whether you're a small business owner with a passion for digital technology or you're simply obsessed with grabbing the latest gadgets for yourself, there is tech temptation at every turn. The iPhone 5 was just released, as was the iPad 4. Just because the next latest and greatest gadget enters the market, however, doesn't mean you need to spend a fortune. In fact, there are ways that you can keep up with cutting edge technology without breaking the bank. Read on for some go-to money-saving tips for gadgets:
1. Purchase Online It's true that one of your best strategies to save on office gadgets is to look online. Use eBay or Amazon to begin with, but if you truly want to save, sign up for email updates from a website such as FatWallet or Slickdeals. That way, you can get an aggregate of all the deals both online and in-store where you can save the most money. Just be sure to factor in the shipping costs so you don't end up spending more money on online purchases than you would in-store.
2. Buy Used Shopping online is great, but take the idea to the next level by checking out used listings when you're shopping Amazon or eBay. You can sometimes uncover a deal where the product may be opened but it is virtually unused. Just because it's listed in the "used" category doesn't mean its tainted goods. It might be an item that was simply unwanted or one with a UPC code removed for a rebate promotion.
3. Track Clearance Sections This can involve a bit of leg work, but if you check out Staples, Office Depot, Office Max and Clickinks on a regular basis, you can find some nice items in their clearance section. These items aren't limited to traditional office supplies – you can even get display model laptops and other devices at significant discounts.
4. Go Without Although abstinence is never fun, sometimes it's best just to wait a while before making your purchase. You're never going to be able to keep up with all of the latest electronic releases, so your best bet may be not to buy new office gadgets at all. At the very least, wait unit the next model is released and you're going to save money by purchasing the previous model.
5. Sell Your Old Gadgets When you do upgrade your smartphone or other office gadget, be sure to sell your unwanted items. Amazon, eBay, and Craigslist are typically the best places to make a sale. Be sure you package your items safely and securely and ship them fast as well - you want to avoid getting returns.
Final Thoughts If you find yourself in the position of saving a few hundred dollars on a laptop computer, consider investing that money where it can do your finances the most good. If you don't have an emergency fund in place, start one. Got credit card debt? Get those balances knocked down. It's great to save on office gadgets, but using your savings in a meaningful way is even more important.
What ways can you think of to save on office gadgets?
With the evolution of home printing over the last decade, printing has now become more easily accessible than ever before. All but gone are the days of paying a print shop to print a simple document. Printing at home can save you time and money. With that being said, ink is still a pricey liquid that can really cut into the college student, or coupon clippers, budget.
There are some smart ways to get the most bang for your buck when printing.
Is your font eating up your ink? If you regularly use Arial, you could potentially use less printer ink by selecting Calibri, Century Gothic or Times New Roman as your default font. The amounts of ink used are generally determined by the thickness of the lines, so go light instead of bold for your prints.
Now that you have looked at your font, you may want to look at your default printer preferences. Select economy or draft mode if you are printing a casual note, or restaurant coupon, that does not require top quality, and you can save yourself money on those color inks. If you have a commercial printer, you may also have the option to select duplex printing. Selecting this option allows you to easily print on the front and back of each page, cutting your paper cost in half. Once you have changed your printer preferences, then go to print preview to make sure you are printing only what you need instead of printing headers, footers and anything else unnecessary.
Once you are using the least amount of ink and paper per print, you will want to find the lowest price on replacement ink cartridges. You don’t need to purchase name brand ink cartridges, there are many stores, like Clickinks.com, that sell reliable remanufactured ink cartridges, at half the price.
Most of us aren’t printing our own money, so apply these tips and you too can save more money when printing.
Is ink getting expensive? Would you like to win $150 worth of the printer supplies you need from Clickinks.com! That's over a year’s worth of ink cartridges for the average consumer!
Are you stuck in a boring cubicle with no way out? Looking for a good excuse to exercise your creative side?
Are you tired of looking at that ugly printer on your desk that always flashes low ink?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, Clickinks has an answer for you!
Decorate your printer or cubicle, post a photo to Clickinks facebook page, and you could win $150 worth of the printer supplies from Clickinks.com! Bedazzle your printer, prank a co-workers desk for their birthday, or beautify your cubicle for the 4th of July! We want to see your creativity!
The Clickinks cubicle dwellers will be judge and jury, so aim to impress and you could win $150 worth of the printing supplies from Clickinks.com!
Interested cubicle dwellers and printer owners can submit a photo of their decorated printer and/or office cubicle by posting a photo to Facebook.com/clickinks now through July 5th, 2013.
And a little inspiration...
Halloween Cubicle:
Diaper Desk prank for a new Dad:
The type of printer that is best for you depends greatly on how you plan to use it. Do you print documents in mass quantities? More than 3 pages a day, or more than 20 pages a week? If so, you it would be worth switching to a laser printer.
Laser printers also produce high quality text documents, although if you are printing primarily color photos you may want to stick with a good inkjet printer.
Laser printers have a higher cost initially, and use toner cartridges that are priced higher than most inkjet, however you will notice the toner cartridges have a much higher yield, which will save you time and money in the long run.
In the Recycler’s article Cost effectiveness of laser versus inkjet discussed David Connett had a good point about duplexing as well, “Some laser printers automatically print on both sides”, which is another time and money saver that you will find in laser printers over inkjet.
Laser toner cartridges can cost around $91, on average, however the laser toner cartridge is able to print 1,500 to 3,500 pages, whereas a standard inkjet cartridge may only costs $23, but only produces approximately 200 pages. Per print you are looking at a significant savings long term with a laser printer.
Should you buy a Laser Printer? If you are printing documents in high quantity, the answer is a resounding yes.
Calling all photographers! From seasoned pros to amateurs, Clickinks wants to hear from you! We are running a photography competition; the theme is “new beginnings”
We are giving away $100 and the chance for you to have your photograph professionally printed on a gallery wrapped 24” x 16” canvas!
Who can enter?
The competition is free to enter, and open to all living in USA or Europe.
How to enter
To enter, either email your photo to feedback@clickinks.com or post the photo on Facebook and tag Clickinks via our Facebook page.
There are some rules:
Please only send us a photo that you've taken - you must own the rights to it.
If you're chosen as the winner, we'd like to publish the photo on our site in a blog post (but we won't publish it anywhere else).
The photo can be of any subject matter you like (but please, nothing rude!)
The deadline is June 5th 2013 at 9am and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards.
Only one entry per person - so choose only your favorite. Good luck!
Competition is open only to The United States of America and Europe.
- Due to the popular response, we have decided to extend the competition until the 5th June 2013.
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) was established by the American Library Association in 1941 to promote and improve library services to children and teens. In its early years, it was restructured and renamed three times, becoming the modern ALSC in 1977. Since its inception, it has grown to include more than 4000 members including children’s librarians, literary experts, publishers, and education and library faculty.
One of the most high profile ways the ALSC encourages children to read is through its awards and medals. Every January, it praises authors, illustrators and their works with more than 15 accolades. These are all prestigious in their own right, selected as they are by the distinguished members of the ALSC, though some are more well known than others.
Among the most famous of these awards is the Newbery Award. Given to a work that has proved a significant contribution to children’s literature, the Newbery has been awarded to classics such as Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Sarah Plain and Tall, and A Wrinkle in Time.
The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the most outstanding children’s picture book. It has been given to Make Way for Ducklings, Where the Wild Things Are, and Jumanji.
The Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award goes to a person who has contributed significantly to children’s literature, be they author, critic or teacher of children’s literature. Recipients are then invited to give a lecture on children’s literature. Honorees include Michael Morpurgo, Maurice Sendak and Philip Pullman.
The Batchelder Award selects a book originally written and published for children in a language other than English and in a country other than the United States. The American publisher that translates into English and publishes in America the outstanding book wins the prize. Winners have included Charles Scribner's Sons for Don’t Take Teddy by Babbis Friis-Baastad and Walker and Company for The Baboon King by Anton Quintana.
The Belpré Medal celebrates the work of Latino or Latina writers and illustrators who celebrate Latino culture and experience in children’s literature. Victor Martinez, author of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, and illustrator Yuyi Morales are among those who have won this.
The Carnegie Medal goes to the producer of the best children’s videos. This has included So You Want to be President? and Eric Carle: Picture Writer.
Established in 2006 and named after Dr. Seuss, the Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal is awarded to both the author and illustrator who has made an outstanding contribution to beginning readers books. Winners have included Cynthia Rylant and Sucie Stevenson in 2006 and Mo Willems in 2008.
The Odyssey Award honors the best audiobooks for children and has been awarded to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Rotters.
The Sibert Medal is given to the best informational book for children. It has been awarded to Kakapo: Saving the World’s Strangest Bird and The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights.
The Wilder Medal, named after Laura Ingalls Wilder, honors people whose books or literary artwork have made a lasting impression on children’s literature over a period of years. It was initially given to Laura Ingalls Wilder herself and has since been awarded to Beverly Cleary, Maurice Sendak, Theodor S. Geisel and Eric Carle.
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards highlight the outstanding books that demonstrate an appreciation for both African American cultural experience and universal values. It has been given to Mother Crocodile: An Uncle Amadou Tale from Senegal and The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Schneider Family Book Award acknowledges books for children and young adults that have discussed the experiences of disabled people. Winners have included A Mango Shaped Space and The Deaf Musicians.
The Printz Award is given to the author of the best book written for teens. Among these is Kit’s Wilderness and American Born Chinese.
The Margaret A. Edwards Award is bestowed upon writers whose works have made a lasting impact on literature for young adults. Recipients include Judy Blume, Terry Pratchett and Madeleine L'Engle.
The Alex Award is given to 10 books annually that, although written for adults, appeal specifically to older children and teens. These include Water for Elephants, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Stardust.
The Best Books for Young Adults list is an annual compilation of the best books for young adults. From that list, 10 books are then highlighted as particularly noteworthy. Books such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Hunger Games have been included on these lists.
Of course, everyone agrees that encouraging children to read is a good thing, as it improves academic performance, communication skills and concentration. These awards help encourage the next generation to have as many readers as possible, ensuring these benefits and many others will continue to improve the lives of children throughout the United States.
Russian art in the 19th century went through three distinct phases. In the early part of the century, Russian artists followed the European techniques and styles, so they largely focused on the Romanticism aesthetic. Towards the middle of the century, artists shifted towards ideological realism, and the end of the century saw artists move towards the Russian or Slavic revival as the culture of Russia moved inwards.
Romanticism
Russian Romanticism was the result of Russian artists’ feeling that Europe was superior in the arts. This attitude saw Russian artists going to Western Europe to learn to emulate their styles and techniques. Like most of Europe at the time, Russian artists preferred the romantic aesthetic. Portraits, self portraits and depictions of historical events were the prevailing subjects.
Karl Bryullov came to prominence in this period. Born in Italy, Bryullov was raised and educated in Russia. Despite his classical training, he never really liked the classical style he was taught to use, and he introduced more nationalistic, less neoclassical elements into his work. This allowed more artists to look to Russia for inspiration, giving rise to the next phase in Russian art.
Ideological realism
After the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, art began to be produced for the masses. Artists felt it was their role in society to create works that would speak to and instruct everyone, giving peasants a moral and social education and giving voice to social criticisms against the more well off. While subjects began to focus on Russian heritage, the techniques used were still largely influenced by Europe.
During this time, a group of artists left the Russian Academy of Arts, which at the time was the arbiter of style and taste in Russia. The artists who left formed Peredvizhniki (the Travelers or Itinerants), so named for their travelling exhibitions. They became disillusioned with the academy, feeling it didn’t understand what Russian artists wanted or needed to do. This break led artists to look back, calling up more historically Russian subjects.
Russian (Slavic) revival
The next logical step for Russian art was the Slavic revival. The late 19th century saw a conflict between those who wanted to align themselves more closely with Europe and those who wanted to find inspiration in Russia itself. The Slavic revival found inspiration in Russia’s medieval art and the culture and traditions of the Russian peasants. Folk tales, heroic epics and the iconography of the Orthodox church proved fertile grounds for artists.
The subject matter was immensely popular with the newly rich industrialists of Russia. They began financing the artists, who in turn founded art colonies throughout the country. This new collective spirit led to a new cultural movement, called Mir iskusstva (The World of Art). It included painters like Alexandre Benois, Konstantin Somov, and Léon Bakst, who began pushing art into new directions.
At the end of the century, the Russian avant-garde movement came to the forefront. The 20th century brought its own movements, not least because of the Russian Revolution, but the cultural shift away from Europe and towards Russia itself as a rich source of inspiration changed the art world in Russia irreversibly.
During the 18th century, many African Americans were slaves, ex-slaves or generally ignored by the public. There are therefore few African American writers from this time period, but the ones who were able to write are groundbreakers.
Phillis Wheatley was the first African American woman to publish a book and the first African American poet. In the 1760s, she was kidnapped in Western Africa and sold into slavery. She was taught to read and write, and in 1773 she wrote a collection of poems, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. It gained national attention, even coming to be praised by George Washington.
Lucy Terry wrote the oldest known work of fiction by an African American. She was kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery as an infant. Her freedom was purchased by Abijah Prince, a freed African American man, whom she then married. Her work, “Bars Fight” is a ballad about an attack by Native Americans on two white families in an area known as The Bars.
Jupiter Hammon was the first African American to be published in the then newly independent United States of America (Wheatley’s collection of poems was first published in London before being published in the United States). A poet who was born into slavery, he never experienced emancipation, but in his famous Hammon address he said, "If we should ever get to Heaven, we shall find nobody to reproach us for being black, or for being slaves."
The 19th Century
The Civil War had been fought, and the slaves were freed. Many more African Americans had access to good quality education, and many authors wrote about the struggles of ex-slaves, both when they were enslaved and when they were freed.
W.E.B. Du Bois, Frederick Douglass, and Booker T. Washington are perhaps the most famous African American authors at this time. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate, graduating from Harvard, and he was a founder of the NAACP. He wrote prolifically about what he called the “Negro Problem”, how African Americans felt about being considered problematic in society.
Douglass became famous after publishing his autobiography about his life as a slave. White society was shocked to discover that slaves could be compelling and eloquent, and he took advantage of his new-found fame to promote equal rights for all people.
Washington, unlike Du Bois and Douglass, was born in the Deep South and was intimately acquainted with the feelings of southern white people to their newly freed slaves. His writings were collections of his speeches trying to advance the causes of African Americans across the country.
Other writers were working at this time as well. Octavia V. Rogers Albert interviewed former slaves in Louisiana to use as the basis for her book The House of Bondage. Like Washington, Charles Chesnutt wrote about the experience of ex-slaves in the post-Civil War south, but much of his work was fictionalized. Elizabeth Keckley was a freed slave who became the seamstress of Mary Todd Lincoln. Keckley wrote a book about her work with Mrs. Lincoln called Behind the Scenes. William Wells Brown wrote the first novel written by an African American, Clotel, which was published in London, where he lived at the time.
The early 20th Century
The 20th century saw many African American writers come to the forefront of the literary world. The Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights era created a fertile ground for writing.
Anne Spencer spanned the gap between the writers of the 19th and 20th centuries. She socialized with Langston Hughes, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and W. E. B. Du Bois, among many others, and she was the first African American to have her poetry included in the Norton Anthology of American Poetry.
Langston Hughes wrote in just about every format, but he was particularly feted for his work in poetry. He brought musical sensibilities to poetry, giving rise to the jazz poetry that helped define the style of the Harlem Renaissance.
Zora Neal Hurston was famous during the Harlem Renaissance, but her work had fallen out of favor for several decades. She was reintroduced to the world in 1975 by Alice Walker, and she has stayed in the canon of American literature ever since.
James Baldwin wrote in the middle of the century, publishing his first book in 1955. His work explored the racial, sexual and class distinctions of his time, looking particularly at the unspoken rules that governed people’s behavior.
The late 20th and very early 21st Century
It is early into the century, so most writers today have also written in the 20th century. These days, African American authors are no longer restricted to issues relating to race, instead exploring genres like horror and sci-fi in fiction and contemporary issues in poetry.
Maya Angelou is the legendary poet, essayist and autobiographer well known for her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. That book was a crucial contribution to African American feminism literature.
Toni Morrison has written many novels, including Beloved. She has received many awards for her writings, including the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Alice Walker is most famous for writing The Color Purple, in which she uses the backdrop of 1930s Georgia to explore issues facing women and African Americans.
Rita Dove is the first African American to serve as the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress and the second African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Her writings include On the Bus with Rosa Parks.
ZZ Packer was highly lauded as an up and coming writing talent in her youth, and her subsequent output has proved that early praise correct. She has written Drinking Coffee Elsewhere and is currently the Writer-in-Residence at Tulane University.
Samuel R. Delany is a renowned science fiction author. Winner of four Nebula and two Hugo awards, he has written titles including Babel-17, Nova, and the Return to Nevèrÿon series.
David Anthony Durham concentrates his talent on the historical fiction and fantasy genres. His notable titles include Gabriel’s Story, which follows African American settlers as they make their way out west, and the Acacia Trilogy, an epic fantasy trilogy that is praised for its fully developed alternate world and the way it turns many fantasy tropes on their heads.
Ordering online is easy, a time saving convenience most of us have discovered by now. Ordering ink online, something you don’t have to try on or look at, is brilliant. The best part, you can stay stocked up and never have an annoying crunch time run to the store because you are out of ink. When a paper is due, or tickets need to be printed, you will be prepared. All you need is your printer model number. You can probably see that while you are ordering online.
To ensure that you place the order to suit your needs, follow these simple steps now.
Go to Clickinks.com
Type in your printer model number in the pink search bar
You will then be taken to a printer specific page, or if we need more information, we will list additional options to get you there.
On the printer page, you can verify the name of your printer model at the top. If you own this printer, your best option will be shown at the top. If you are looking for additional options, scroll down. When you find what you are looking for, click the quantity arrow above Add to cart.
Once you have selected the quantity of ink cartridges you would like to order, click Add to cart. If you need additional cartridges, continue shopping, otherwise you can proceed to view the cart & checkout.
Do you have a promotional code? At this time you can enter a Coupon Code, if you would like to use one.
Hint: Coupon Code: BLOGTIPS will apply 5% off your order of our inks.
Go ahead and enter this promotional code, then click "Apply Coupon: Click Here" to deduct your discount. If everything looks correct in your cart, click the arrow to proceed to our secure checkout.
Have you registered with our website yet? If not, now is the time to provide your name and email address, so that you can access your account when needed. If you have done this before, existing customers only need to enter their email address and password to login.
Once registered or logged in, you will be taken to Checkout. Enter your address for billing, and shipping if different.
Note: Shipping is free to street addresses in the continental US when you spend just $30.
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We are pleased to announce the winner of our poetry competition on New Beginnings is Forrest Brunet! Congratulations!
Thank you to everyone who took part. The standard of entries was extremely high and it was a pleasure to read them.
Here is Forrest's poem:
Strings
I don’t remember who we used to be, all the memories are fading away
So here i am, begging for the right to listen. Will you just play me our song,
Then maybe i can move on with all our strings intact?
Standing in meadows, wind brushing away the past
Laughter poured down like rain, swept the scars down through the gates
Our hands no longer holding because now isn’t the time for foolery
Cracked lips make broken smiles, delicate curves no longer fitting perfectly
pictures burn in the open fire, we became ashes when letting go was our only option
did we not know that there was another way to forget the pain we caused?
I don’t remember who we used to be, all the memories are fading away
So here i am, begging for the right to listen. will you just play me our song,
Then i might move on with all our separate strings intact
There’s a line from a song we used to sing, i don’t believe we can start over again
Tears were whipped away and cries were left behind, does that mean war is ended now?
Everything fell into place then out again, but there must be something beyond these walls
Now here i play, our remix, a story of life. with these cords and every note
A melody we used to share, these lyrics mean nothing without each other
But that doesn’t matter to you, so just pay attention, you can’t miss what i need to say…
I don’t remember who we used to be, all the memories faded away
So here i am, begging for you to listen. i’ll play you our song,
Then finally move on with all my strings intact