Frugal Shopping

1. Throw catalogs out the second you receive them. Make it a rule.  Don’t open them… ever.
2. Buy online instead of in stores. If you see something you love in a store, copy important details about the product and see if you can find it for less online later.  In addition to allowing you to comparison shop, shopping online will let you view product reviews and search for coupon codes, both of which are covered in this list.
3. Buy gifts from the “Bargain Books” sections of Borders and Barnes and Noble. These sections often contain coffee table books, photo books, book gift sets and cookbooks.  You can get brand new hardcover photo books for $3-$10, marked down from $50 in many cases.
4. Buy irregular or overstocked items from TJ Maxx and Marshalls.
5. Use your partial gift cards on retailers’ websites. A lot of stores will only let you use one payment method, but websites often let you use a gift card and then a credit card for the balance that the gift card cannot cover.
6. Make your own gifts. If you want to give a gift that will really be remembered, this is one of the best ways to save money. Just be careful to ensure that the cost of your supplies is less than the cost of buying a gift.
7. Always ask for refurbished models when buying electronics. Refurbished models are models that have been sold, returned (sometimes because of a defect, sometimes because of a change in preference), restored to the quality of a regular model and offered at a steep discount.  They are often sold with warranties that resemble those of their brand new counterparts.
8. Visit Woot.com. Woot.com offers one daily deal, often at a really steep discount.
9. Reframe purchasing decisions for luxury goods in terms of expensive necessary goods. How many diapers is that new pair of designer shoes?  How many school lunches for your kids is that new set of golf clubs?
10. Before you go into a store to buy an appliance, an electronic device, etc., make a list of the features you need. Much like sticking to your grocery list (covered elsewhere on this page), stick to your list of features.  Don’t let the salesperson convince you that you need other features.  If you’ve made a list of features ahead of time and you’re very honest with yourself about what you really need, you’re bound to save money.
11. Always ask to see last year’s appliance models. Though you might only see this year’s washers and dryers on the display floor, there are sometimes older but still 100% functional models in the back.
12. Don’t buy designer clothing. Is the difference in quality between a $300 pair of Gucci sunglasses and the $15 pair you pick up on vacation really worth the $285 between them?  I didn’t think so.
13. If you buy an item that has a mail-in rebate form, fill it out and send it immediately. Manufacturers that provide mail-in rebate options do so to put obstacles between you and the low advertised price.  Many people don’t fill these forms in and send them at all, which is what manufacturers count on.
14. When shopping online, sort search results so that the top-rated products are displayed first. By sorting product search results by the quality of reviews, you can be sure you’re not going to buy junk.  Without product reviews from other customers, your assessment of quality isn’t really based on much.
15. Buy clothing at consignment stores. This is one of the most time-honored ways to save money. Shop for clothing, costumes, furniture, etc. at consignment stores.
16. See if you can get a discount if you pay with cash. When buying something from a small retailer, always ask if you can get a discount if you pay cash (because if you pay by credit card, the retailer has to pay fees to the credit card company).
17. Will last year’s gadget suffice? If you’re going to buy electronics, always ask yourself if you could use last year’s model.  Compare the features of this year’s model to last year’s product and compare the prices.  Ask yourself: “Are those new features really worth the difference in price to me?”  Additionally, right after a new model of a gadget is released, you can often find 100% functional older generation models on eBay at huge discounts.
18. Research information about major purchases ahead of time; don’t get information at the store. Before buying any major appliance, do your research.  How long will it last?  How much energy will it use?  How much does it cost at other stores?  Don’t get this information from the salesperson; get it from the Internet ahead of time.
19. Buy a book about negotiating strategies. It’ll pay for itself on your first negotiation victory.
20. Buy used DVDs. If you’re going to buy a DVD, save money and always buy it used.  There is absolutely no difference between a used DVD and a new DVD unless you’re giving it to someone as a gift.
21. Don’t buy thank you cards one at a time; buy a whole pack. To the extent you can do this with other types of cards (like birthday cards), do so.  The average price of a card if you buy it individually at a pharmacy is around $3.  For about $5, you can sometimes find up to 25 cards of the same type.
22. Never be among the first people to buy a new electronic device. This is for two reasons: (1) The price of electronics almost always drops significantly after just a couple of months and (2) the first generation of any electronic device almost always has bugs (you’ll get a much better product and save money if you just wait until the second version comes out).
23. Buy rechargeable batteries. If you insist on using regular batteries, freeze them once they’ve “run out” and they’ll usually work again (although they won’t hold a charge as long as they originally did).  The same freezer trick works for glow sticks, by the way.
24. Don’t buy a cell phone at full price. Either buy a used one off of eBay or get a free or reduced-price one when you sign up for a new cell phone plan (normally, cell phone service providers will give you a new phone for free if you sign up for a two-year plan).
25. Start a “gift drawer.” Do you have little kids?  Chances are they attend a lot of birthday parties and need to bring gifts.  Start a “gift drawer,” which you fill with an assortment of gifts for little kids.  When you find a cheap little kid gift, buy a number of them and put them in the drawer for later.  Not only is this one of the best ways to save money, but it’ll also save you a lot of time and stress, as you won’t have to constantly run out to the store to pick up birthday gifts.
26. Ask salespeople for open-box items. When shopping for items, always ask for open-box items, items that have been returned after being opened for no other reason than a change in preference.  These are normally sold at steep discounts.
27. Sign up for store loyalty cards. Don’t get store credit cards, but always get free store loyalty cards, cards that provide you with discounts (stores offer these discounts because they learn a bit about your consumer habits as you use the cards).  Loyalty cards are very popular at supermarkets.
28. Negotiate all the time, but especially when it comes to prices for mattresses, cars, tires and services. The prices of mattresses, cars, tires and most services (including bills for medical services) are almost always negotiable.  In fact, almost everything is, but these items are particularly known to be negotiable.
29. Don’t buy a printer (or sell yours and stop buying ink). When’s the last time you needed to print something.  Unplug and hide your printer for a month and you’ll be surprised how little you actually need it.
30. Rethink your Christmas shopping. The standard might be for every person in your family to buy a gift for everyone else.  That’s a lot of shopping.  Try a Christmas name raffle instead.  In this scenario, everyone draws another persons’ name out of a hat and each person is only responsible for buying a gift for the person whose name they draw.
31. Before you buy a major item, see if another store will match or beat the coupon you have. If you are going to buy something expensive in a store and you have a competitor’s coupon, see if the store will match or beat the competitor’s coupon.
32. Buy your holiday cards for next year right after this year’s holiday passes. This is one of the easiest ways to save money. Christmas cards, for example, can drop in price by up to 90% in the week following Christmas.
33. Get free stuff from Craigslist. Get free stuff (furniture, etc.) from the Craigslist “Free” section.