Now that we've mastered grocery savings let's talk about savings in other areas of your budget!
One way we have save lots of money is comparison shopping for almost everything. Pots and Pans, Plates, furniture, cars, auto services, restaurants, travel etc.
You would be suprised at how many people who need a fridge will just go to store XYZ and buy one, not ever looking at prices of other places! Fortunately we live in an area where there is competition and we can easily shop smart and get the most bang for our buck.
Here are a few of my Comparison Shopping Tips
1. Big name stores do not always mean best deals
For Example:
A few years ago we were in the market for all new kitchen appliances when we did a remodel. I wanted nicer quality appliances not just the standards. We went to Sears, Home Depot & Deranleau's to scope out prices, models, and figure out what we wanted and what was within our budget. As expected Home Depot had the lowest prices, but would you know that they were of almost no help on answering our questions (I think we went at a weird time where the regular wasn't working). Deranleau's had higher prices, but they were so helpful. I WANTED to give them my business. After we figured out what we wanted, I talked to the guy and got him to come down so close to the Home Depot Prices With Delivery! A deal is not necessarily a dollar issue: It's value for dollar. We may have paid $40 more but we recieved delivery, and great customer service.
*This is my experience I know some people have awful stories to tell about almost every store in the valley so you can make your own decision :)
2. The internet and/or phone can be your best friend
While running to three appliance stores was smart, it also too about 3 hours of shopping, thinking, driving time to complete the above mentioned purchase. In the case of appliances I prefer to see/touch/feel what I'm buying. On most days I'm way too busy to pop over to several stores and scope out prices. If you want to buy local why not call a business first and ask them their price on an item. I often forget that I can do this and it saves so much time/energy if you already know exactly what you want. If you are an internet shopper make sure to google your item and find the lowest price. When you do this make sure you take into consideration shipping etc. Sometimes an online store will be priced the cheapest but then have expensive shipping.
For Example:
Black Friday - A friend mentioned a fantastic camera deal on her facebook at Walmart on Black Friday. I then went to the internet scoping all deals of that camera and similiar. I found that Amazon was actually $10 more but didn't come with a memory card, but it had free shipping and I wouldn't have to go to Walmart on Black friday. Sounds like a deal to me and I didn't need a memory card anyway! ALWAYS see if you can get the same thing online somewhere cheaper. I will be honest 9 times out of 10 I end up buying from Amazon, but occassionally there is a much better price somewhere else.
3. Dine out with coupons
While you can't really negotiate with a restaurant or truly compare apples for apples you can choose where you eat. I know that sometimes you want to eat where you want to eat and I'm the same way, but you can save quite a bit of money if you dine with coupons. Fortunately we have a pretty great local coupon folder that comes out regularly where we can get great food coupons. They even have coupons for some of our favorite places (Roosters, Southway). If you eat fast food, go to the places you get coupons for. We don't eat fast food much, but when we do I always have a coupon. Right now my food coupon folder holds coupons from: Southway, Roosters, McDonalds, Jack in the Box, Sonic, Taco Time, Arby's and more. We will never use them all, but we rarely eat out without a coupon these days.
4. Be Organized and Patient
If you are in the "market" for something but do not need it right away you need to keep an eye on whatever is is you want at any store you shop at and through the newspaper ads to get the best price.
Example:
Two weeks ago I was in famous footwear looking at some shoes that I wanted. They were some cable knit clog looking things and they were $40. These are not shoes I was buying for fashion reasons (although they are cute). I wanted something closed toed, casual, and easy to slip on for quick trips to the store and running errands. I was not willing to pay $40. The other day my husband was looking at all the ads (proud moment for me, lol) and he said "Hey there are some shoes almost exactly like the ones you wanted for only $10 at Kmart." So we went over that evening cause we wanted out of the house and they were great. Comfy enough, warm enough, and since I was just wanting them to run in and out of the house with I was ecstatic about the price.
If you are willing to wait you will amost always find something cheaper later if you are diligent about noting prices and doing some research
There are a few tips for you on comparison shopping. From experience I have found my greatest saving in the area of travel and larger purchases when doing smart comparison shopping! Have fun!
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