Tag Archives: shopping

Make Your Bargain Hunting Work for You

I love getting bargains and good deals, but I don’t love the clutter that those bargains often bring to my house. I know I am not alone after a conversation I had with a friend yesterday, She is in the process of downsizing to a smaller home and is overwhelmed with the amount of stuff that she must deal with in her current home. She confessed, “It is hard for me to pass up a bargain! When you find something fabulous for just a couple of dollars, how can you not buy it?” Well, I am not going to get … Continue reading →

Secret Online Shopping Discount

Want to take advantage of a secret online shopping discount? You could save $10, $20, $30 or a heft percentage off of your final check out bill if you take advantage of it. Not all retailers participate in this unadvertised discount, but those who do will practically pay you to shop. Here is what you do. Sign up with the shopping website or store. You will need to make sure that you register with a valid email address. This is because once you try this trick, the store may send you a discount code or incentive through email, and you … Continue reading →

Take It Back, Use It Up, or Pass It On

Chances are that your closets and maybe even other parts of your home have items that are new with the tags on or still in their original bags and packaging. These are items that were purchased (or gifted) but are not being used. In other words, they are a waste of money. Purge these reminders of spending from your life in one of the following three ways. This is Part One in a three-part series. Take It Back Many stores are quite generous with taking new items back fro a full refund or for store credit. It helps if you … Continue reading →

Three Reasons to Leave the Stuff in the Store

I was browsing one of my favorite blogs yesterday, I came across a bit of home decor that I had admired for a while on this blogger’s page. She had it hung in her living room, and it looked wonderful. Of course, she got it for free in order to promote the store that carried the products, and as part of a one-day promotion, that particular item was discounted from $59.99 to $19.99, a real bargain. I clicked over to the site and almost ordered the item. Almost, because I know that there were at least three reasons to leave … Continue reading →

What’s the Best Value: Buying Big vs Buying Small?

Sometimes you have to buy big and sometimes you have to buy small if you want to get the best value for your money. It all depends on the circumstance. At the grocery store, you want to buy big when buying in bulk will save you the most money. Of course, it doesn’t always work that way. Always check unit price and do a comparison of your various options. Usually this works well on items that aren’t otherwise on sale, don’t have coupons, can be used up before they expire or are purchased at a bulk warehouse store where normal … Continue reading →

Cheap Appliances: An Ice Cream Maker for $5

Someone who is looking for small appliances to replace old ones or to stock a new home is in luck. Right now, there are many different ways that you can pick up small appliances for really cheap prices. What is the average cost of a small appliance? Of course, it depends on the appliance, but if you take a quick look at all of the must-have-it appliances advertised on television, you know the ones that are available for three or four payments of $19.99, plus the average cost of appliances bought in the store, you are looking at somewhere between … Continue reading →

Watch Out for the “Up to” Sales

“All Toys on Sale up to 50 percent off!” “Save up to 70 percent off on all clearance sweaters!” “Going Out of Business! All books are up to 90 percent off!” These are some of the most recent sale signs that I have seen on store windows this holiday season. Are the desperate retail stores trying to unload as much as they can before Christmas, giving you the rock bottom deals while they still can? Well, yes and no. There is truth in advertising and then there is truth in advertising. The “up to” sales work well for the stores. … Continue reading →

Smart Mama Shopping

You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.  That goes double if you are a penny-pinching mom playing Santa Claus. I am all about retailers trying to make cash this holiday season.  I get that, but when you are living on a tight budget and you have kids who are expecting St. Nick to deliver a little more than just a few stale candy canes this Christmas, don’t … Continue reading →