Finding ways to save on your monthly expenses is just one of the ways to stretch out your budget. There is nothing wrong with being frugal for as long as you don't do the extreme that you deprive yourself of the present.
They said that people are broke at all levels so I am sure that somehow, you'll be able to utilize the following tipsNo matter how much salary you make, you can always use a few extra tips on how you can save money when shopping
1. Wait for the sale
The Holiday is when you will find the most sale. Almost every holiday, different stores have different sale incentives going on. But the biggest sale seem to happen on Black Friday or the day after Thanksgiving. However, the only thing that I do not like is the crowd seem it could get ridiculous.
2. Buy Private Label Brands
There are quite a number of items on the shelves that you can purchase with store brands. Nowadays, store brands almost have the same quality as the national brand. In some occasions we cannot even tell the difference between the two. Items that are better with the store brands are toilet paper, paper towels, bottled water, aspirins, bread, food, etc. Some personal items that you get accustomed to may not be perfect for store branding but you can always try it and return to the national brand if it is not the right fit.
3. Search the internet for coupons or rebates
People sometimes forget that there are a lot of coupon website out. Coupons and rebates are two of the best money savers. If you always purchase products, the recommendation is to wait until the coupon comes out. Because of the top competition, there are some stores that are willing to honor various manufacturer’s coupon. Grocery stores usually doubles the amount of the coupons that can yield you additional savings.
4. Join Grocery Store Club Rewards
There are a lot of grocery stores nowadays that offer membership for free so you can take advantage of the extra savings if you sign up for their rewards program. You can save as much as 20% to 50% of the regular items and this is on top of the coupons so in essence, consumers can benefit from double savings. The membership is quite different for warehouse club since grocery stores also sell to non-members.
5. Join Warehouse Wholesale Club
It seems that there are a lot of warehouse stores popping up nowadays. The most popular warehouse stores are BJ, Costco and Sam’s club that charges membership fees when you join. Non-members can shop as well but there are surcharges tucked in of at least 5%. Usually, stores offer rebates on every purchase made by the members (for instance, Executive Costco membership). In addition, if you sign up with Costco American Express, you can get more annual rebate on items you bought. You will love shopping in these warehouse stores because you can get discount for purchasing something in bulk. On the other hand, bulk buying may not be always good since there are times that you will end up just throwing away the leftovers. If you have a small family, you are better off just shopping at non-membership stores such as K-Mart, Wal-mart or Target and purchase non-bulk items instead.
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