We’ve all got things that are a necessity for us to purchase, but when you’ve got more than one family member to support, things can become expensive. This might leave you wondering how you can save and shop while ensuring that you get everything you and everyone else needs.
Below we’re going to provide you with some useful tips that will help you shop the sales and shop smarter in the process. What are you waiting for?
We’ve got some shopping to do.
Search the Weekly Coupons
Coupons are one of the best ways to save whether you’re shopping for clothes or going to do your weekly grocery shopping. Typically, most coupons can be found in your Sunday newspaper inserts, or you can find them online.
There are tons of websites that give you the ability to download or print coupons based on what you’re looking for. We recommend taking the time to read the fine print on your coupons before printing them because some retailers will only allow you to use a specific number of coupons in their store per purchase.
Check the Clearance
It might not be the first thing on your mind when it comes to shopping, but you’ll be surprised what you can find in the clearance section. If you’re shopping for a particular item, you might want to check the Walmart clearance sale.
They’ve got tons of featured items that have just been marked down in a variety of categories. If you’re looking for children’s diapers, they’ve got it. If you need a brand new television, they’ve got that too.
Taking a couple of minutes to search the online clearance sale will save you tons once you make it to the cash register.
Make a List
This tip is specifically for grocery shopping. When you go grocery shopping, it’s easy to get lost in the aisles and aisles of food items, which results in you purchasing food that you don’t need.
Rather than blindly entering the store, we recommend making a list beforehand. Once you enter the store, you’ll be focused on grabbing everything that you’ve written on the list that you won’t have time to worry about picking up other items that end up costing you more money than you intended to spin before the trip began.
Depending on the grocery store you use, they each provide a grocery list on their apps to plan your trip. Not only can you create your list here, but you can also price check the items on your list to estimate how much you’ll be spending beforehand.
Create a Budget
Having a budget is crucial for any shopping that you will do. To create a spending budget, you’ll need to sit down and evaluate your income and what money will need to be set aside for the monthly household bills.
Once you’ve done this, you can then evaluate how much you want to allocate to spend based on the leftover funds. If you require some help when it comes to sticking to your budget, that’s where your banking app comes into play.
Most banks have added a money management application to their apps. You set the total amount you want to dedicate to groceries or clothes shopping within the app.
As you spend that allocated amount, you’ll get notifications once you’ve gotten closer to or are about to go over the amount that you’ve set. It’s a fantastic way to hold you accountable for what you spend and serves as a wonderful reminder to help you save money.
Use Cashback Offers
Cashback offers provide you with cashback on specific products that you’ve purchased from a retailer. What you’ve got to do is save your receipt from your shopping trip and scan it to the cashback site.
While you might get a couple of dollars here and a couple there, it’s a great way to get a small percentage of what you’ve spent back. The best part of using cashback sites is that they will let you know ahead of time which items will get you the most back when shopping.
Join the Rewards Clubs
We all have tons of promotional emails that flood our inboxes every day. However, you might not want to be so quick to send these emails to your trash bin without taking the time to look at them first.
If there’s a store that you shop at frequently, you’ll likely want to sign up for their customer loyalty program. The customer loyalty program rewards you for being a reoccurring shopper with the brand.
You’ll earn things like money back on your next purchase, a special discount during your next shopping trip, or free gifts every time you spend a certain amount of money. These types of things can be used towards discounts on gas, which makes it that much more of a necessity to sign up.
Save and Shop: Watch the Prices Drop
The saying shop until you drop doesn’t have to be at the expense of your wallet. There are tons of ways to save and shop at the same time. For instance, using coupons is going to help you get the most bang for your buck.
And taking the time to sign up for the customer loyalty programs will help you save money in the long run. In the end, saving money and staying on a budget is definitely manageable.
If you’d like more useful tips on various topics, don’t hesitate to look over some of the other posts that we’ve published for readers like you.
