Learn how to save the most money from shopping. Keep more dough in your wallet by following these 6 easy ways and tips for saving money and being a smart shopper, without sacrificing the good things in life.
The Consumer Expenditure Survey says, “You will spend at least three hundred and twenty-three dollars every month on groceries.” If you consider it, that number is only for groceries. What about your everyday purchases too!?
Former Chief People Officer of Credit Karma advises, “if there is something on your list that you want, and it’s priced for more than you’re able to afford, then hold off on purchasing the item because you may be able to find a slightly better deal down the road.” Saving bucks on your day-to-day purchases is a masterful component of a well-planned fund or budget.
A simple lifestyle change can save hundreds of dollars a month. For instance, if you stop buying that $5 coffee once a day, that’s a savings of $150/month or $1800/year. That $5 a day starts adding up.
We need to know how to save money on the things we need for our everyday use. We will add flexibility to our finances to set aside money to cover our future emergencies or make wise investments.
We can solve that by showing you different and easy tips for saving money. To be a savvy yet frugal shopper, we have curated 6 easy ways to save the most money from shopping:
1. Buy Used/Refurbished/Older Models for large purchases.
You know how they say, “when you drive off the lot with your new, current year car, the value drops ten percent?” Well, it’s true. As soon as you use that new car, the next owner will be less pleased with their new purchase when they know someone else used the vehicle before them. So that thirty-five thousand dollar car becomes a thirty-two thousand dollar car just by being driven down the ramp that enters the asphalt street.
The best idea would be to buy a used car that’s dated back one or two years. Instead of purchasing the new model shown on the television for thirty-five thousand dollars, the more thoughtful decision would be to look at the two thousand seventeen model and save six thousand dollars.
2. Buy your clothes at 2nd hand stores or thrift shops.
There are a lot of second-hand sellers. You can save so much money from physical thrift shops and apps like Offer-Up, than buying completely new, never-before touched items. Just like a car loses monetary value just by being purchased, video games, movies, furniture, and household items are discounted just by opening their box.
You can save hundreds of dollars buying “used” clothes at stores like Crossroads or the Real Real. You can get a Prada shirt for $30 instead of paying $400 retail, giving you a savings of about $370.
3. Use Coupons.
Coupons galore! Everywhere you go, you’ll find a way to save money on the back of your receipt, in magazines, or the “shopping” section of your phone’s app store. The best part about app coupons is that they’re all so easily accessible. You can download as many apps as you want without having to scramble through hundreds of papers in your bag.
The plus side to having physical coupons, as opposed to digital, is you can try and haggle with the manager to accept the coupon if it’s expired. However, coupons that expire on the app are gone completely since it’s based on an electronic system with ones and zeroes.
Suppose you’re more in tune with shopping online. In that case, Honey is a free, automatic coupon extension for most browsers on your computer that searches all over the internet for quick deals to save you as much money as possible through the click of a button. Best of all, you can use Honey at just about any checkout within a website!
4. Take the time to sort expenses.
When you take the time to go to the stores’ websites and compare prices, you’ll find which price or substitute is lower. For this activity, it’s essential that you already have a list written out of goods you want to purchase, which stores have the items you want, and how much they are. If you don’t check in on these factors, you could end up driving to several different stores and wasting all your gas.
Unfortunately, it’s better to purchase all your items from one website, similar to one store, since shipping costs could also stop you from saving money. So take the time to set yourself up for success by organizing and planning. It’s so crucial that you focus on the best possible plan rather than just accepting where you’re heading. You can be saving SO much more money if you just put effort into it.
5. Cash back or Reward Points.
Scrounge up your receipt-collecting, gas-saving, cash back featured apps and cards because it’s going to come to great use right now! Imagine you’re on your way to the grocery store, but you need gas. Check all your gas-saving apps because one of them is bound to save you ten to fifteen percent of your bill in cash back rewards at the pump you’re standing at. Afterward, you go to the store, pull out all the paper coupons, apply them, and turn your one hundred and twenty dollar grocery bill to a sixty dollars and some change grocery bill.
After you saved over half of your bill in groceries, you can go ahead and find an app that scans your receipt and gives you even more cash back rewards or points for just that simple act! With a simple gas-saving app, a coupon app, and a receipt scanning app, you’ve saved so much money, you don’t even know what to do with it. Fetch is the best receipt-scanning app on the market that can get you points that can be redeemed for free gift cards at your favorite stores and restaurants, including Amazon, Target, Starbucks and Apple.
6. Negotiate when possible.
You won’t be able to negotiate most of the time, but there are times where you can save a couple of bucks. You have to ask for it. For instance, if something is damaged, you can always ask to speak to the manager and show them the imperfections of the item. Chances are they will give you a discount because that item will be harder to sell. This method tends to work well with cosmetics or furniture, so please keep it in mind.
If you are dealing with a private party, negotiation is a definite must. The private party has the power to sell the item for any price they want. You can always say that you have another option or that whatever you want to buy is the wrong color. The same goes for when you go to a swap meet; they are always open for negotiation.
The Bottom Line.
There are so many intuitive ways for you to save money while shopping. Don’t give up, and keep on searching, and be a frugal and smart shopper. Organize your shopping items, find the best prices, use those apps or physical coupons, and enjoy the show as you see your zeroes turn into heroes.
Do you have any tips on how to save money while shopping? Shoot us an email at press@fetchrewards.com with your favorite savvy shopping tips.
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