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Part 3 of 5 in Tips for Budgeting

Planning Ahead – There is always a Sale

1. Research – Amazon (and other websites) are brimming with user reviews on almost everything.  Generic brands are often cheaper for the similar quality (though not always, so read reviews!).  Sometimes paying more for the non-generic will be a better-longer lasting choice than the generic too.  Price compare with online, outlet and retail stores.  Ask friends and family for advice and past experiences with brands and products. There is always a sale, so you need to do the research to know at what price point an item is truly “on sale.”

2. Questions – “Do you really need this?”  Try waiting 30 days from the point of deciding to purchase something to actually purchasing it.  This practice helps avoid buyers remorse and also allows you the opportunity to be creative in using something you already have to meet the need the new purchase is suppose to meet. “What will this enable me to do and what will this disable me from doing.”  The typical example is, “what will paying for cable enable me to do”: sit in front of my tv at night while “what will paying for cable disable me from doing”:  deter me from having real conversations with people.

3. Buying tips – Consider supply and demand – try not to pay for items that are marked up just because there is short supply (i.e. Nintendo Wii’s).  Admittedly my friends and I bought Wii’s for MSRP and sold at 60% markup for almost a year so if everyone were to follow my advice, I would have no customers :).  Consider buying  Used-Like-New.  Jenn and I found the bedroom set that we had listed on our Crate and Barrel Wedding Registry on www.craigslist.com in like-new condition at a fraction of the cost!  Use shopping lists and stick to them, especially when going into warehouse stores like Costco.  These stores are designed to feature items on the aisle ends that you were not intending to buy, didn’t even know existed, and now suddenly think you need.  Just don’t do it (!Nike).  Some thing you should do is use coupons and search for online deals (www.retailmenot.com).  Some say coupons are a waste of time, but I would say being aware of coupons and refusing to buy items that are not on sale is more worthwhile for its perspective-habit building than its qualitative benefits.