As the holiday shopping season approaches, I a reminded how much I really hate to shop. Yes, it is true, not all females are born with the shopping gene.

However, as the years pass, online purchasing has become more and more convenient. You can price shop without having to spend the whole day going from store to store. You can find cheap shipping rates that are less than the sales tax that you pay. And, almost all the store use secure carts, so you feel safer purchasing. After you purchase, it's delivered to your door.

In my last article I noted a faucet that I wanted to get. It is available through both Home Depot and Lowes locally, but is a "special order" at both locations. So, I would have to go to the store twice to just buy it, and have to wait a week. So, instead, I went to the Delta faucet site, found online retailers that they listed, then checked the prices. I found the exact same faucet for $80.00 less than the price locally. It cost me $15 to have it second day delivered. No tax, since it is from a different state. (Yes, I know that you are supposed to claim use tax per state, but there is also a federal law about online sales to different states that says that you don't have to pay tax...) in the end, the tax that I would have to pay locally on the $350 faucet would have been $21 (6% sales tax in Michigan), which is $6.00 more than the S/H. So, in the end, I saved $86 and it will be delivered to my door, so no hassle with picking it up.

Do I think this is the way to do all business? No. But, I think that there are a lot of products that you can save money on my simply looking online for them.