The Save Money Blog

Archive for the ‘Shopping Tips’ Category

This weekend I started to venture out into retail land to do some pre-Christmas shopping and scouting for prices and items. After about spending twenty minutes in a big box store I had enough of the looking for a parking spot, the pushing, shoving and sales people either in your face or nowhere to be found.

I started my Christmas shopping by doing it online and ordering the items either to be picked up in the store or delivered to my house. The nice part is not having to put up with the crowds and waste my gas driving around town but there is also another added bonus to shopping online.

That is online coupons. For example, I search in google for sears coupons, go through them at my leisure and then do my shopping. I pour a cup of coffee, fire up the computer, find my coupons for the items I want to buy and it’s done. I wouldn’t have that coupon price if I just went to the store. This way I can ensure that I get the best price possible.

I am going to do all of my Christmas shopping this year with online coupons and online ordering. Why pay more and why go through the aggravation of fighting it out at the shopping malls and stores when you don’t have to.

The internet has done a lot for consumers in terms of our buying power and the best example of this has to be social buying. If you are unaware of just what social buying is all about then you might be missing out on some hot retail deals.

In a nutshell, a retailer will offer a very attractive deal on goods and services if a certain number of buyers commit to buying their deal. For example, they will offer a great price on widgets if fifty people commit to buying. The deals range from most anything and you can find carpet cleaning, fine dining, fast food and pedicures. The variety of items being offered on social buying sites is endless.

When the sites first started to spring up online they were restricted to only major cities in mostly the United States. You could find a new york city daily deal but not much in smaller markets. That has all changed. There are lots of money saving deals being offered in almost every city in the United Sates and Canada.

I sign up for email alerts for about two or three of them and have personally found some really awesome deals. I have purchased coupons for car maintenance, luncheon specials and spa treatments for my wife. If you are a shopper then you won’t want to miss out.

Equestrianism, or more often known as horseback riding, is an activity that a lot of people enjoy, and like most activities, there are several important pieces of equipment that you need to be able to do it. One of the most essential pieces of equipment to have in equestrianism is equestrian boots. Equestrian boots are needed when horseback riding, and it is important that they are safe and comfortable to use. There are different types of equestrian boots for different types of horseback riding activities. You can buy equestrian boots for every activity or you can just buy all-purpose boots for everyday riding.

Equestrian boots aren't cheap though. To find cheap equestrian boots, you can go bargain hunting at physical equestrian stores, or just can just browse online websites and look for what you want in online equestrian stores with a click of the mouse. Cheap equestrian boots doesn't have to mean poor quality. Don't compromise your safety and comfort just to save a few more dollars. If you can find inexpensive equestrian boots that are good quality and that are comfortable when you wear them, then buy the boots immediately. Finding good quality equestrian boots that you know will last a long time and at a decent price isn’t easy so grab the opportunity when you see one.

This week our second laptop in the house, the ones my kids use for school has given up the fight. It takes forever to boot up, the screens lock up constantly and it crashes. I am no slouch with a computer and know how to keep them free of spy-ware and virus. Its number has been called and its time for me to replace it. I hate spending money, you know that. But maybe it happened at a good time. The stores and websites are running wild with back to school sales right now. They appear to be ramping up more and more day by day. I was looking at samsung netbooks and a few other laptops and there are some really decent deals out there right now.

If you are looking to upgrade your electronics now might be a good time to do it. Take a look online and keep your eyes peeled on flyers in the newspaper of the next couple of weeks. Prices are low and deals are going to be offered.

I was heading to the grocery store today to grab a few things for my lunches this week. As I walked by the cereal and snack bars I thought there had to be a cheaper way to make my lunches than buying commercial brand treats. I ended up picking up a bag of no-name rolled oats, no-name whole wheat flour, a couple of bunches of bananas and some raisins. In about 35 minutes after getting home I had made myself some homemade banana raisin oat bars for the week at a fraction of the price of regular chewy bars and a whole lot healthier too. This is something that I am going to try from here on in.

Ingredients

When I was in college I tried my hand at a few sales jobs but never found it to be my thing. I think it’s because something inside me told me that I couldn’t sell people things they didn’t need or couldn’t afford. I use this same logic with myself when shopping. I don’t sell myself anything I can’t afford or that I don’t need.

Here is an example. Yesterday I went to a local hardware/outdoor store.  I need a few things for the yard, one of them being a new sprinkler for watering the lawn and garden.

How much would you pay for a sprinkler just to water your grass this summer? Would you believe some of them were selling for as much as $60 and the majority of them at $30?  A little much for a piece of plastic and a steel bar that sprays water. I wasn’t selling it to myself even though I needed one.

Sometimes you have to step back and think about what you are trying to sell yourself. Do I really need to pay $60 to water my lawn? Of course I don’t. I don’t even need to spend $20. I looked around and finally found a little plastic spike that waters my entire lawn for $9.99. That’s a $50 savings to myself.

Sometimes you have to step back and be a good salesman, to yourself.

I recently embarked on fixing up the old house. I have blogged a bit about it. The one thing I found that I was and am constantly going back and forth to a couple of different hardware store picking up big items and little items. All sorts of items I think I need. Like any hack handyman I end buying lots of things I just don't need and have to return.

What I have done is taken a larger size plastic freezer baggie, put it in a drawer that I walk by every time I come home and put my receipts in it. I probably have a entire receipt printer spool saved up in my bag from all of the trips I have been making lately.

 Now when I have to return something I just sort through the bag and find the receipt I need and off the hardware store I go. This method has saved my bacon and saved me money a couple of times already this month. Right now I have a $10 of spray foam I don't need and next time I go back to the store I am just going to fish through the bag, find my receipt and get my money back.

Beats running all over the house looking for paper, having to go to the store with no sales receipt or just not getting your money back.

I heard an interesting story the other day on a news segment. Although it was general about the holidays and money it got me thinking more specifically about Black Friday. The jist of the article was basically, you have been saving and scrimping all year to get ahead a little. The holidays is not an excuse to go all out and blow what you don't have. This important for the upcoming shopping events. We all have to Christmas presents so yes it's a time for great savings but in the back of your mind remember, don't spend what you don't have.

I was searching through google today for shopping information and see that Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and news stories are all over the headlines and search results already. If you plan on doing a little shopping and saving on either of these two days then you still have plenty of time to plan ahead. If you are looking to save money it may be a bad idea just to head out and start spending.

You should determine exactly what you are after and try to stick to those items. Get your Christmas list together and make an effort to put a list together of all the items you need and the people you have to shop for.

Now that you have a list or an idea of what you need start scouting out the stores that you normally shop at and see if they have their advertising up yet. Many of them probably have information about their upcoming sales and I have even seen a few that are already offering coupons.

You know have your list of items that you are after and scouted out your favourite stores and websites for sales and deals start comparing prices and adding to your list the places with the cheapest prices.

Those are just three basic tips to formulate a plan for your holiday shopping. Remember, nothing brings out the scammers online then the smell of a shopping holiday. If something sounds to good to be true it usually is.

This was a question a friend of mine asked me thet other day when I was showing some iPhone4 gadgets that I recently purchased. Of course not, why would I pay full retail price for something when I have to go to an online auction and find the items that I need for a fraction of the price. You do have to do your homework when buying from auction websites. You have to look at the sellers feedback and you have to research prices, brand names and shipping. For example, if a person if offering low prices with high shipping prices you should stay away from them. When they sell you a crappy item they just have to refund the purchase prices and not the shipping. It's an old scam.

My point is don't rush out to a retail store and pay way much more than what you have to for a brand name item. Do some digging and I bet you can find what you are looking for and save some money.

I have been blogging about the work that I am currently doing on my house. Mostly redoing my basement from scratch. Right now it is in a total state of disrepair. I have foam sprayed the basement walls, added an HRV as well as a heat pump and new blower. With all of this out of the way I am putting a plan together to drywall everything, add my tv room as well as a small office or computer area.

I imagine ones first move would be to rush out to a box store and look at office furniture. I was driving by an office liquidator store and decided to stop in. I found out that lots of offices will dump their existing furniture and supplies not because there is anything wrong them but because they have redecorated. I couldn't believe how it is to pick up a decent desk and chair set.

The lesson is, you don't have to buy everything brand new. Do some digging and find a used store, a liquidator or a charity that sells donated items. There are lots of options to save you some money.