by: Tehila Mörtl
Some of the advantages of online shopping one can offer elderly assistance with is helping to save: on gas or transportation to and from stores, no waiting in line, ability to shop at one’s leisure despite time of day or not, traffic, parking; not to mention, if one is the sole caregiver of their spouse or elder. For us, as with those providing in home senior care, this was particularly helpful in keeping up with grocery shopping. For those who would like to see which grocery stores in their area deliver, simply type grocery delivery along with your zip code in your search engine. One can also visit the website of their favorite market(s) to establish if transport is available. In our experience, we were able to obtain delivery within just a couple of days.
To this day, I continue a great deal of my shopping online particularly with large, heavy items such as pet food, cases of supplemental shakes, etc. I must confess, it is far more convenient and of great elderly assistance to have the heavier and bulky items delivered right to one’s front door rather than wrestling with getting them in shopping carts and to and from the car. In addition, most of my neighbors are of a culture that does not use electricity; therefore, have no access to the internet. Given my enjoyment in online research, one thing I love doing is to finding better prices on items. Having shopped this way for many of my neighbors, I have become known in our little community as the online deal lady. For instance, a while back one of my neighbors needed a new phone, specifically one that worked with batteries rather than electricity so I took to the internet checking the retail price at the store he purchased the same model which sold for over $30. At the end of my search, I found one on an auction site for less than $15 plus, shipping and handling were free. If you are providing your elder assistance, you too can help with substantial savings by teaching them how to shop online. Silly as it might sounds, my favorite brand of salsa, which comes in different varieties, is not available within our area and would necessitate driving about an hour to find either that brand or one comparable. With a little research though, I was able to exactly what I was looking for and more (i.e. pasta sauce). In a case such as this one might need to purchase a few jars at a time, but the savings makes it worthwhile. One last example is when an elder neighbor needed support stockings. While those can cost $50 or more in a local pharmacy, they ended up being available online for only $8. With a little homework, you might just be surprised at the online deals to be had!
Certainly not always but many times one can find what they need on-line and at a far lesser cost. One only need to be mindful of keeping personal information private. Most reliable and trustworthy sites will show a small lock icon, on the link line, similar to the following:
One might also looks to ensure the site address begins with http or https.
Thank you for joining me here today. Should you have questions regarding elder assistance or in home senior care or need additional assistance or even have information regarding online shopping for seniors which you would like to share with other readers, please feel welcome and encouraged to contact us directly.