Living near an outlet mall is a double-edged word. Whereas I love that I am so close to stores that offer daily deals on new items, if I don’t exercise will power, I can easily spend a ton of money scooping up sale merchandise.
Fortunately, you don’t have to live next to an outlet mall or warehouse store to save money on clothes, footwear, or household items. Savvy shoppers know exactly where to go to bargain hunt. Thrift, consignment, and resale stores are a frugalista’s dream. These types of shops carry “gently used” or “like new” items at deeply discounted prices. Other places to find decent deals are yard sales and auctions. The bonus to shopping for goods at garage or yard sales is that in most cases you can negotiate with the seller to lower the price of a specific item even more.
If you are a tech fiend, then you know that online bargains can be had with a simple click of the mouse. However, when opting to shop via the Internet, it’s always a good idea to read the fine print to avoid hidden fees. Also, review the site’s shipping and handling fees before checking out, as some charges can drastically inflate the sale price of an item, so that it is no longer is a good deal.
Other points to consider when digging for discounts: Driving a long distance to save a dollar or two on a sale item is not financially wise, especially if you factor the price of gas and wear and tear on your vehicle into the final price of the deal.
Package size is another controversial topic among extreme bargain hunters. Smart shoppers know not to look exclusively at the overall size of a package. A smaller container may seem to be a better deal until you compare its unit price with the next size up. In addition, while warehouse stores would have you believe that buying in bulk can help your bottom line, if you don’t use all of what you bought, you are simply wasting money.