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They'rebig,they're filled with temptation and millions of people shell out an average of 50 bucks a year to be card-carry- ing mem- bers of one of America's three big warehouse clubs: Costco, Sam's Club or BJ's. While the whole idea is to save money by shop- ping at a warehouse club, membership alone does not guarantee that will be the result. In fact, just the opposite is as likely to happen, where members end up spending far more than they imaged they would because they just don't how to make a club work for them. As a long-time ware- house club member, it's taken years for me to re- ally figure out how to win the warehouse club game. Here are some tricks of the trade I've learned. Knowbeforeyougo It is really dangerous to your wallet to cruise into the club without a clear idea what you are going to buy. The way to know before you go is to create a written shop- ping list. That way, if you need something, you'll know it before you arrive. If you discover things you need that are not on your list, make a second list of things you will buy on your next trip. Make sure to check the monthly ads for your specific club to see opportunities for instant savings or dis- counts. Stick to a budget Decide how much you have to spend before you get there, and then stick to it. Put blinders on your emotional self. Get the things you need (you'll know what those things are because of the list, re- member?), and then get out of there. This isn't a treasure hunt; it's a place where you can often find the things you need for less than you'd pay else- where — if you do it right. Bulk buying This is tricky. One of the ways to spend less is to buy in an item in a larger volume, and a warehouse club is a great place to do that. But it can also be self-defeat- ing if you out-shop your storage space or you buy more fresh produce, bread, meat, cheese, poul- try, etc. than you can use before it spoils. A bargain becomes very expensive if you end up throwing half of it into the garbage. Create a sense of scarcity Whether it's a case of soda or toilet tissue, snacks, fruit or (fill-in- the-blank), find a way to dole out the item a bit at a time. If you load 24 cans of soda into the re- frigerator in plain view, they will disappear in a flash. Stash non perish- ables in the garage or un- der beds or in high cup- boards or closets. Invest in a food saver I am convinced that a FoodSaver with a pulse vacuum feature, or some- thing similar, is really the only way to make a ware- house club work long- term. It's going to re- quire an investment of about $175, but consid- ering the price of food these days — provided you use this appliance reli- giously — you will recoup the cost quickly. Properly vacuum-sealed food lasts up to five times as long — fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, chips, nuts, snacks and more included. I can vouch for that. My Food- Saver extends the time be- tween shopping trips. It keeps me out of Costco, which I must confess is a very good thing. I recently invested in the FoodSaver 4980 with PulseVac (not all Food- Saver models have the pulse vac feature), which allows for manual start- ing and stopping of the vacuum to help prevent crushing delicate foods, such as baked goods and potato chips. This is a new feature and I love it. This model has other cool fea- tures as well, all outlined in the owner manual. A warehouse club mem- bership is not all fun and games. It's a tool that, when paired with per- sonal discipline and a bit of hard work, can result is tremendous savings in both time and money. Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Howtowinbigwithwarehouseclubmembership The Senior Nutrition Program will hold its 3rd annual Spaghetti Dinner at 6 p.m. Friday the Red Bluff Community Center, 1500 S. Jackson St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. There will be a live des- sert auction and many wonderful raffle prizes available, including a tire package from I-5 Tire, an Oakland Raiders package, a golf package from Rolling Hills Casino and an Atlan- tis Resort and Casino trip. Come out and support this great program. This fundraiser assists in de- livering about 90 meals a day with a smile to seniors throughout the county. About 40 to 50 meals each day are served in senior centers in Corning and Red Bluff. Call 527-2414 with any questions or visit http:// www.tehamacountycaa. org/index.php/programs- services/senior-nutrition- program for more infor- mation. FUNDRAISER Mary Hunt The Tehama County Po- lice Activities League will hold its 20th Anniversary Open House 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 21 at the PAL Martial Arts building, 1005 Vista Way, Ste. C, next to the Red Bluff Airport. Come and meet some of your local law enforce- ment officers and get to know them. Planned free food for the open house in- cludes pizza, soft drinks, water, cookies and brown- ies. Planned events include a Battle of the Badges with a tug of war, arm wres- tling, marshmallow shoot- out and relay races — bear crawl, crab walk, potato sack races and wheelbar- row races. Tehama County's youth will be able to get auto- graphs from officers and deputies. Several of the martial arts students will demonstrate self defense techniques and grappling demonstrations. PAL Martial Arts was the first anti-bullying pro- gram offered in Tehama County beginning in Sep- tember 1998 and is a free, year round program for youth ages 5 to 18 years if attending school, including home school. The Tehama County Po- lice Activities League is a non-profit youth crime pre- vention organization that puts cops and kids together. PAL supports a drug-, alco- hol- and tobacco-free life- style for all youth. Businesses and orga- nizations that support youth programs in Te- hama County are invited to make an annual tax-de- ductible donation of $200 or more to have their logo placed on the Wall of He- roes at the PAL building. AllTehamaCountyyouth involved in mentored youth organizations are invited to place their 5 x 7 photo and some of their school awards and accomplishments on the Forrest of Life wall in- side the building. Other youth organizations are en- couraged to place their lo- gos on the Wall of Heroes at no charge. For information on all of PAL's free programs, in- cluding Women's Wellness & Empowerment, either visit www.tehamaso.org/ pal or call Kathy at 529- 7950. POLICE ACTIVITIES LEAGUE Youth program to celebrate 20 years COURTESYPHOTO Pictured, from le , are Juanita Rajanen, nutrition coordinator and Brian Medeiros, cook, as they prepare for the 3rd annual Senior Nutrition Fundraiser. County Supervisor Candy Carlson will hold her next town hall meet- ing at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 23 in the Tuscan Room of the County Administra- tion Building, 727 Oak St. in Red Bluff. While Carlson repre- sents District 2, all mem- bers of the community are invited to attend these meetings to share concerns and to hear thoughts on is- sues being addressed by the Board of Supervisors. Meetings are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. the last Mon- day of each month with no meetings scheduled for No- vember and December. For further information, call 727-8803 or write to ccarlson@co.tehama.ca.us. TEHAMA COUNTY Supervisor schedules town hall Monday For information on all of PAL's free programs, including Women's Wellness & Empowerment, either visit www.tehamaso.org/pal or call Kathy at 529-7950. Spaghetti dinner Friday to support senior nutrition A steep discount on your monthly cable bill? This may sound like a great way to save money, but it could be the set up for a scam. Conartistsareimperson- ating cable companies and taking advantage of sub- scribers' eagerness to save money. Howthescamworks: You get a call, and it's someone claiming to be a representative from your cable provider's "loyal re- wards" program. The caller offers you a significant dis- count on your monthly ca- ble service. For $80 per month, you can get phone, broadbandInternetandthe premium cable channels. This package would typi- cally run subscribers well more than $100 per month. Of course there's a catch. You need to pay for six months of the discounted rate up front. The caller doesn't take credit cards, only pre-paid debit cards. Using one of these cards is as untraceable as paying in cash. According to Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker reports, lately con artists are impersonat- ing Comcast, but they will likely move on to other ca- ble providers as the scam expands. Reports say that scammers frequently have personalinformationabout targets, such as address, phone number and level of service, making this con very believable. Tipstoavoidautility scam: Cable companies aren't the only utilities that scam- mers impersonate. Watch out for variations involving electricity, gas and other bills.Prepaid debit cards are a red flag: If a caller specifically asks you to pay by prepaid debit card or wire transfer, this is a huge warning sign. Your util- ity company will accept a check, credit card or online banking transfer. Don't cave to pressure to pay immediately: If you feel pressured for immediate payment or personal infor- mation, hang up the phone and call the customer ser- vice number on your util- ity bill. This will ensure you are speaking to a real representative.Never allow anyone into your home to checkelectricalwiring,nat- ural gas pipes or appliances unless you have scheduled anappointmentorreported a problem. Ask utility em- ployees for proper identifi- cation. SCAM ALERT Cable impersonation con fools subscribers Ca bl e co mp ani es ar en 't t he o nl y ut il it ie s t ha t sc am me rs im per so na te. Wa tc h o ut f o r va ri at io ns in vo lv in g el ec tr ic it y, g as an d o th er b ill s. Thankyou! PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Patrick's Pumping SepticPumpingServices Red Bluff, CA Garet Patrick Owner/Operator 530-366-6899 4patricks@att.net Av ailab le 24/7 25yearsprofessional experience. 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