Shopping is such a broad category and there are litterally 1000s of ways you can save money. Below we provide 30 ways you can reduce your shopping bill without compromising quality or your lifestyle. Some of the tips are obvious, some are more out of left field. Go down the list and see which ones you can incorporate into your life easily and start with these.
- Tip 1: Avoid shopping at convenience stores: Convenience and corner stores are over prices and often don’t have a great range or have older produce. Plan your shopping and try and avoid these convenience stores at all cost.
- Tip 2: Shop at stores that are cheapest overall: Unless you are going into a supermarket specifically for a sale item, you may end up spending more money overall. They’ve just sucked you in. One of the cheapest around is ALDI, they rarely have their general floor stock on sale, but on average you will save between 10 and 15 percent.
- Tip 3: Use price comparison sites: These sites are great, they save you time and money. When you see a big price item that you like, make sure you check out one of these sites first.
- Tip 4: Buy a flask or a high quality coffee cup: You can spend a heap of money on take away coffee’s. Why not bring your coffee with you from home.
- Tip 5: Eliminate one item trips to the shopping centre: How do you do this? Go around the house before you shop and check to see what items you need. Keep in mind that occasionally you will still have to do one item trips, except this!
- Tip 6: Buy tinned fish: If you live in an area where fresh fish isn’t readily available, or to expensive, then supplement it with tinned fish. The quality of tinned fish is great, and will save you at least $5 a meal when compared to fresh fish.
- Tip 7: Are electric razors worth their money: The short answer is no! For one they don’t do a good job on close shaves, and more importantly, they generally stop working after a few years. Buy a good quality hand held razor with replaceable blades and use soap or cheap shaving cream. Do this and shaving will cost you less than $3 a month.
- Tip 8: Use the 10-15 second rule when shopping: If you are making a big purchase think about how you will use the item and if you really need it for 10-15 seconds. If you can’t think of a good reason then put it back!
- Tip 9: buy appliances on reliability and quality: You don’t have to be Einstein to work out that the cheapest appliances are not always the best. The next time you need to buy an appliance do some web-based research and see which brand is high quality and which will last for the longest. This will save you big dollars in the long run.
- Tip 10: Join every customer program that you can: Department stores reward you for your loyalty. And offer you between 5 and 10 percent discounts on repeat purchases.
- Tip 11: Don’t buy extended warranty: Extended warranties generally are never used (research shows well under 5 percent of them are ever used). So save yourself an extra $30-$40 and go without the extended warranty.
- Tip 12: Use cash as a negotiation tool: Cash is still alive and well. Next time you are making a big purchase see if they will reduce the price if you pay cash. This also helps you save money on Interest as well.
- Tip 13: Buy discount books: A discount book, with an initial expense of $50 maximum, is a great investment. If you don’t want to spend the money yourself you can ask for one as a present. Most people easily save between 200-300 a year, but you can save $1000s! Note: Keep the book in your car for easy access!
- Tip 14: Buy your gifts well in advance and when sales are on: For example you can use the after Christmas sales to buy a lot of your presents for the next year. It takes a bit of organisation, but in terms of the dollars you will save it is well worth it. Always keep this in mind when you are shoping.
- Tip 15: Follow up cash backs: You often receive cash back when you buy electronic items such as a laptop. We always find these cash backs hard to find or follow up! Persevere and you will get your money back.
- Tip 16: Items for free: Craig’s list and newspapers often have sections where people are giving things away for free. It is always worth checking this out. You never know what you may find.
- Tip 17: Compare prices for medical procedures: It is always worth getting three quotes if you are in need of medical or dental treatments. There are also a few websites such as www.smarthealthbuyer.com which compares prices. This way you won’t over pay for a treatment. Consider overseas for non urgent/ elective surgery. Globalisation is happening, so use it.
- Tip 18: Buy less but buy quality: Quality appliances or toys etc will save you money over the long term. If you buy cheap things you will have to keep replacing them. This is one case where less is more.
- Tip 19: Bring your own reusable shopping bag: Many supermarkets are starting to charge for plastic bags (we support this as the environment does not need any more plastic bags!). So save yourself a few cents each trip and bring your own bags. Try a body bag and notice the admiring looks from your co-shoppers!
- Tip 20: Buy based on unit price: If you can, work out the unit price for an item, you will be able to easily ascertain if you are getting a good deal or not. There are a variety of different brands out there so measuring cost of unit price is an easy way to make a quick comparison.
- Tip 21: Bring a calculator when you shop: A $5 dollar calculator will pay for itself in no time. You can work out the cost of different sizes of items, measure the cost of different unit prices, and work out discounts easily.
- Tip 22: Shop on senior’s day: If you are a senior then great! You will most likely get a 10 percent discount at certain stores. If you are not, don’t worry seniors day is when many sales start so you will still get yourself a bargain. If you’re a really crafty senior start shopping for under seniors. A good way to get your kids talking to you again, after you got drunk on sherry at your daughter’s wedding and passed out doing karaoke.
- Tip 23: Fix it before you replace it: Before you throw out your old appliance etc, see if you can easily fix it first. It is amazing how easily appliance can be to fix. It may only be one small part that is faulty. Sometimes though it may be cheaper to buy rather than replace. Thanks to China.
- Tip 24: Expand your shopping sphere: Don’t just go back to your normal stores. Look at markets, strip shopping centres and garage sales to see if you can get any of your items at a cheaper price.
- Tip 25: Consider borrowing over purchasing: Before you make a major purchase, see if it is possible to borrow an item first. For example, you may need a new lawn mower, but instead of buying one you ask your neighbour if you can use his. In return, you let him use your hedge cutter. There are literally whole communities that operate this way. Be fair though, borrowing the mower Homer Simpson style for 6 years and still going will explain why the neighbour doesn’t say hi anymore.
- Tip 26: Ask for free shipping: If you a shopping on the Internet see if you can find a site that offers free shipping, or ask the merchant if they can provide it. You will be amazed to find that a lot actually will ship for free when asked.
- Tip 27: Utilise what you have in your cupboards: If you are having a tight week look through your cupboards and see if there is a meal that you can make, or at least contribute significantly too. Rice and noodles are great items for this. Pet food less so!
- Tip 28: Minimise waste: Often it is better to buy less (especially of fresh produce) than more. If you eliminate wasted food you will save yourself money.
- Tip 29: Have a cheap meal day once a week: Once every week try and cook a meal for you and your family for under $10. Whether it is cheap meat and a stew in the slow cooker, or a cheap pasta dish, it will do wonders do your budget. If you are really trying to save money go for two cheap days a week.
- Tip 30: Map your shopping tip and save on petrol: If you have to go to four stores to complete your shopping, then map it out to ensure you don’t travel further than you have too. It all adds up!