To know me is to know that I enjoy shopping, but what I enjoy most is shopping while keeping my wallet’s best interest in mind.
As parents, making wise spending decisions is necessary for a number of reasons. For one, good spending habits will enable you to stash cash away for rainy days and instill good purchasing and saving ideas in your kids’ repertoire no matter how young or old.
But most importantly, the satisfaction of knowing that you are able to save your family a few extra bucks simply by tweaking your shopping habits here and there will make the shopping experience a little more fun.
Since 75 percent of women identify themselves as the primary shoppers in their household, I figured I would dedicate my list of tried and true shopping tips to my fellow moms. Dads, you can read too.
Here we go!
Make a list.
Have you ever been to the grocery store without a shopping list? How has that worked at for you? I can tell you how it’s worked for me . . . It didn’t.
Lists are so very important when it comes to shopping for anything. They eliminate unnecessary spending and help you stay on track. I use them all the time, although for some reason, they never seem to work at Target.
Email sign up
A few years ago, I opened an email account solely for the purpose of receiving newsletters and sale alerts from my favorite brands and in all honesty it has helped me get great deals to some of my favorite stores.
I find that separating my “sales alerts” email from your work or personal email helps me filter them a little easier.
End of season sales
Buy off season for the next season. Retailers always begin reducing cold season apparel at the beginning of January and those sales usually last until the end of February up until the first week of March.
And when summer comes to an end, shop from August to mid-September for the following summer.
This is a great way to shop for kids. Gap and Old Navy have some of the best deals! Outlet malls
Outlet malls are a great way to save on some of your favorite designer brands. Scoring a designer bag or shoes at a heavily discounted price is never a bad thing, plus outlet malls have something for everyone in the family. Thankfully Illinois has a few outlets to choose from which makes it all the more fun.
And there you have it ladies . . . and gents! I've tried all of the above and as a result . . . I shop more . . . and spend less ;)
