BECOME A SMART AND SAVVY CONSUMER EVERY TIME
For years I have been known as the go to person for Freebies and great deals among many of my friends. For some reason ever since I was young I was somehow able to find the best deals on almost everything.I had learned great places to find everything from budget friendly clothes and shoes, grocery deals and so much more. Most of my frugal ways were lessons learned through my Grandmother growing up. The rest of my frugal ways were things I picked up along the way due to my low income and the high amount of debt I had accumulated early on.
Knowing where to find the best deals
I have always shopped at thrift stores a lot, to be completely honest they have great stuff used and new and great name brands for way less than most stores. When I recently needed a Black suit jacket for an interview at work the best price that I discovered was of course at a local thrift store. I knew I had a time crunch to find a new jack so I went first to my local JCPenney store to shop. I typically think of JCPenney as more budget friendly on most items and often buy work clothing there on sale or with discounts. In this situation the price tag of $70 for a suit Jacket for the interview seemed outrageous. Even though I know I could have purchased it, I also knew it was more than I had to spend on one item. I left the JCPenney and headed to the goodwill near my home, in less than 15 minutes I was able to locate and purchase two new blazers for under $7 combined. It is not always this easy to find what you are looking for at thrift stores but in my case I was very lucky that night. To be honest in most situations It is really all about knowing where to shop for things and what to prioritize when you do need to spend a bit more.
There are a few key things that I try to always keep in mind when searching for a great deal
Cheapest is not always best....Sometimes the more expensive quality item will last longer and save you more in the long run. Certain situations where I have found this true is the purchase of shoes, Jeans, vehicles and electronics.
Coupons and discounts can be found in many different places.... Search online for coupon codes and printable coupons, coupons you receive in your mailbox, rebate and shopping apps and even price matching with competitors when applicable.
Unless you need the item or cannot live without it, why not consider doing without the purchase.... Consider if you should go without the item and how much you can save by opting not to buy it....Taking some time before purchases to think about your financial goals and whether this is just a want or a need can be beneficial....It is also smart to avoid stores that cause you to spend unnecessary or shop for deals on items you were not originally planning to purchase.
You can often shop for items during certain times of year and save significantly....This can be a huge savings if you plan your large purchases around some of these sales. Many of the items listed in my post here have a specific time of year that is ideal to shop for a good deal. It is often based on when the newer inventory is being introduced at the stores for the upcoming year.
Here are my best recommendations for stores I shop at to save more money
Clothing and shoes..... my favorite places to shop for clothing and shoes are always thrift stores. I love my local goodwill and typically buy most of my clothing and some of my shoes and accessories there. I am honestly never disappointed in the selection they have at our local goodwill and have found everything from Michael Kohr's Jeans to my favorite shoe brand ECCO at my local goodwill store. I can easily spend $20 and leave with a decent amount of clothing and yet at another store $20 would note even buy me a pair of jeans. Last year I lost over 60lbs total and honestly if it were not for thrift store shopping I could not have afforded the new clothing I needed to replace my entire wardrobe during this time. As I mentioned above there is a specific brand of shoes that I love for the comfort and quality that they are made with and these are Ecco brand shoes. They are pricey in most stores and I have bought these as my work shoes ever since I discovered the first pair at goodwill for only $3. After that I was hooked and if I cannot find these online at a local thrift store I will look for the best sale and buy a pair that way. I usually buy a new pair every 3 years, I have found these shoes last at least this long and still feel great!
Food and beverages
Aldi's is awesome they have so many reasonably priced and budget friendly grocery items and I have rarely had an issue with quality. I love the frozen ground turkey for stocking up and use this often for making chili or tacos. I also shop at Meijer and Kroger they are grocery stores that offer great deals and coupons you can load directly for shopping which works great when you are busy and on the go often like I am. I also try to shop at farmers markets for better prices on fruits and vegetables from local farmers this helps save a lot of money on something that can cost a lot normally. Costco is my go to for specific things to help stretch the budget but I also try to be careful when shopping at stores like Costco. The reason I say this is many people think buying in bulk saves a lot of money but the truth is it can save you a lot or it can cost you more and be very wasteful. I purchase laundry soap, paper products, frozen meat, cheese, etc. when I cannot find a better deal at another store with coupons and rebates.
Electronics
I often shop between Best Buy and Amazon for electronics items and find myself comparing deals on these items before buying. Amazon almost always wins but occasionally combined with the sales and rebate apps such as cash dash and shop kick I can get a better deal at my local Best Buy. Wal-Mart or Target can be a good option also and making sure to check prices among stores will ensure that you get the best deal possible in most situations. There is also an app called Paribus that you can download that will compare prices after you have purchased the item and refund you the difference on an item. Check it out here
Entertainment
We do not have cable television and never will pay for cable or satellite TV services. We simply do not feel they are necessary and the prices they charge are outrageous. Especially when there is plenty of free or discounted entertainment available. My husband and I have Internet services through a local company that is fairly reasonably priced. We often check for better deals with other companies, when we feel that they have raised the prices too high with our internet carrier. You can frequently negotiate a better price with these kinds of companies simply by letting them know you are looking to switch to a competitor for a better rate. We also subscribe to Amazon Prime and get lots of free streaming options through Amazon Prime and occasionally will purchase an additional channel for about $4 a month on there or a certain show we love to watch we will buy in advance and can stream and own it as soon as it posts to Amazon Prime. Even when we choose to pay for this and purchase occasional shows we love, it still saves so much money that we would have spent on cable or satellite services every month. Not to mention all the other great benefits of Amazon Prime such as free 2 day shipping, free kindle books to download, discounts at Whole Foods (this is new) and more. We also love to go to the movies but rarely ever buy tickets full price, we buy at Costco in a 2 pack discounted at about $15, or we try to go to the earliest showing of the day or on the discount days which at our local theater is usually Tuesday or Wednesday. To be honest we do not go to the movies often but when we do these are the ways we have learned to save on tickets. Our local theater is a Cinemark theater, they actually have a great Cinemark app that you can earn free things after so many tickets as well so check out if your theater offers things like this as well. Disney movie rewards is also a great option if you see a lot of Disney movies you can take pictures of your tickets and earn points back with Disney movie rewards that can be redeemed for free movie tickets or DVDs in the future among other great prizes. Disney movie rewards One of my biggest pieces of advice when it comes to saving money on future purchases is to make sure that you check out every possible opportunity to save. This may come in the form of sales on specific items, stores that offer price matching opportunities or even money saving rebates or rebate apps.