What is your best shopping tip?

Hello ShelleD! Do you think you will save money with those coupons? That is the secret for shop owners to push sells. Speaking from my experience, I often buy things which is not needed with these coupons. So my tip is only buy what you need. Never buy things because there is discount. Hehehe, do you agree with me?

I suggest you look for those in "sale", they cut prices of goods so you get to have a little savings on an item. Sometimes too, there are bazarres that operate during the slack season, they sell cheaper there. If you need to buy something generic, then you may as well try to buy in bulk and direct to the manufacturer to avoid mark ups of retailers. Buying online is not economical sometimes because you don't get to really see the quality of the product. Photography had made things look more beautiful, LOL!

Every time say " it is real expensive " , " I don't need this now ", " I will wait till price drops " , and if you are purchasing anyway pay by cash not by card. Keep your card in safe.

watch for all the sales and for end of day sales too, also stick to your shopping list, do not buy other things as that makes your bill go way up.also use coupons if you are into them, I am not but I have a Vons card that gives us big discounts on a lot of food and other items. I love Vons as it is so easy to find every thing and the p rices on the card are so good so I belong to Vons club and get big discounts on food.

I usually check the newspaper for the sales and cut the coupons before I go. I don't really shop on line. I like to get certain things at the local 99 cent store that I can not get at Wal Mart then I will get the rest either at Wal Mart or Kroger.

...Hi ShelleD, This is a good topic. Not only what you have said about Ebay, but there are sites that give you coupons for free, no cash investment. Just search for free coupons and you should be able to find one or two. I would say to people, be diligent, and look for sales, companies have had tremendous mark-ups, so they have to reduce then now, as people don't have as much money to spend. There is competition now, as never before for customers, search, there are bargains to be had. Welcome to the ranch, it's a fun place to be. Take care.

I think the best thing to do when shopping is carry out a whole lot of research! Whenever I'm ready to buy something I carry out research online at look at different online stores in order to compare prices for the same product. I find this works and there will always be some place that sells a lot cheaper than everywhere else. I too like to budget my money and I have to be careful. There are so many deals to be had online and it's a great way to shop, I would highly recommend it. Andrew

Yes, during this tough economy, it's wise to save as much fund as possible. Because our daily life expenses are getting more expensive where else, our earning is not necessary getting more. So, the best tips are, buy only when you really needs those items. When buying certain food which cost more, it's better to always buy when they are having some discount moment. In my area here, there is some shopping mall, where every week they are giving discount on certain products on certain days, so try to grab them while they go cheap.

I have found shopping just once in a month for groceries, and cosmetics and about 4 times during the month for perishables brings down my expenses considerably. I think this is because everytime we visit the stores, we tend to look at things that we could well do without! But we still go ahead, thinking it wont add up much. So from hundred dollars, if it becomes 105 it doesnt seem much, but if my total bill for the month is about 300 and the addition is 15 then it does seem a bit on the higher side. That is why I prefer shopping at one go. Andrew Freyne's method of searching online is what I adopt before I go for shopping perishables. We can bargain out here. With that knowledge, I can bargain as per the rates on net.

buy sale items! hehe! i usually go shopping when it's sale on the mall. there are lots of bargains and they are very affordable. i suggest you have a list of what you want to buy so you will not be guessing or panicking what should you buy. also check the items first before buying them. if you find any damage, don't buy it and find another one with no damage at all :)

HI Shelle.. What i do usually is that, i wait for red letter days such as pay day sale during the 15th and the 3oth of the month, christmas sale, inventory and a whole lot of big events to mention. It is during those events that shoppers pool into the shopping malls to see what the bang is all about. The usual response of store owners is to offer items on a low price. Some huge sales on discounted offers is better than low amount of sales on a regular price. I also go to shopping malls days before big events come just to take note of the exact dates these big sale and midnight boost is happening. That is my tidbit that works for me. :D