Almost everyone I know right now is concerned about ways to save money and I have had many people ask me about ways to help them to save money. So I decided to write a list of 10 ways that I use to save money, these work well and help me live better for less.
Of course saving money is only part of the formula to making ends meet, earning more money and investing your money correctly are also two major parts. I think that everyone should have a reserve equal to at least a few months of expenses…more on all of this in my other blog entries.
So here are 10 ways that I know that can really help your budget, help you save, and help you get ahead in the world. On some of these I will tell you exactly who I do business with, most of them are local so if you don’t live in Arizona than you are out of luck. This may be a bit long so I am going to post it as 10 separate entries. Please read them all, Even if you only do a few of these things it could really help.
1. Price match all your purchases.
Many companies out there are very willing to price match. Most people know about this but very few ever use it. Basically most stores buy from the same supply chain and have basically the same cost so when one store has a huge sale, even if they sell it at or near cost the other stores are still happy to have the business. So all you need to do is find the best deal on an item that you want to buy, and then show proof of that deal to the store you actually plan to buy the item at. This lets you get the best deal, but still buy from the store that gives you better service and quality.
If you have an android based smart phone you can use ShopSavvy, a free program that will scan the barcode of the items you plan to buy and show you the best deal, locally or online. If the local deal is better than what you are paying now simply show the phone as the cash register and you will get the lower price, it has worked every time I have tried it. If the online price is much lower then forgo the purchase for now and get it online because most stores don’t pricematch online ads. I know that other apps for other phones also exist. But the best deals are usually found the old fashioned way, by checking your mail and getting the newspaper ads.
For me the BEST result that I have when I go to Wal-Mart and get groceries. For many households groceries is one of their main expenses other than housing and taxes. The grocery business is highly competitive. Companies also do things where they have loss leaders, this is an item that “leads” their advertisement, and it is usually such a good deal that they are actually selling it at a loss. They figure that people will buy these few items from them and stay to shop for the rest of their weekly grocery needs. Here in Phoenix, there are at least 8 grocery stores that mail out weekly flyers. So I just put these in a stack and take it with me when I go to Wal-Mart. They all seem to take effect on Wednesdays, so that is when I shop. So just follow a few simple rules and let the savings begin. The item does not always need to be exact, just similar. There is a grocery store called “Ranch Market” here in Phoenix. Shopping there is terrible, they are messy, noisy, smelly and the food is not so fresh, but they have great advertised prices, often they are 1/5 the price of other places. So I don’t shop there, I just take their ads to walmart, less than 200 yards from my house and get their higher quality and cleanlness for the ultra low price. Today I bought over $20 in fruits and veggies and paid only $6.42. I went on to price match doritos, sour cream and 5 other things for a total savings of over $30, while paying only $24. That is a savings of over 50%. Combine this with stocking up and you have a great way to save lots of money on food.
Price matching also allows you to buy things that are out of stock at the original company. The other day one store did 32oz Gatorade for only 40 cents, a very good price, the problem is that they were out of stock after the second day, and they had a limit of only 5 per person. Not a problem at Wal-Mart, they had plenty in stock and did not care about the limit. It does not really go bad, so I bought enough for a 6 month supply. At thanksgiving they did the same thing with 12-pack coke products, just $1.25. I still have 30 unopened a month later.
On top of price matching you can use coupons, but personally I found that most coupons are not worth the time they take. For me price matching is very simple. I usually don’t prepare much, I don’t even look at the ads until I am at the Wal-mart, and then I only buy things that are on sale. And I stock up on items that are on a huge sale. By doing these things I have found that I am able to save over 50% off of my grocery bill on average. That comes down to $200 or more per month.
Thanks for reading please click a link below to see the other 9 ways to save money in tough times…