Bargain Shopping At Its Finest
Furniture, home decor, appliances, groceries, books/media-these things don't HAVE
to be expensive. It doesn't even require much creativity, just a willingness to look! My top pics for bargain shopping (for anything other than clothes) are:
Photo by katie jean
1. Ikea. Ikea has amazing furniture and accessories, but moderation is key. Because their prices are very affordable, it's easy to whip out your credit card and charge a whole room. Now that $50 chair isn't so much of a bargain because you surrounded it with $950 worth of other furniture from Ikea as well! I live 2 hours away from the closest Ikea so my friend Lisa and I make a day of it. Good times.
2. Craig's List. Most people fall into one of two categories. Those who know about Craig's List, and those who don't. If you're reading this, you're probably the former! In case you're the latter, Craig's List is a free online service that allows you to buy and sell things locally. Think eBay meets Trading Post. Just go to the main site, click on your state, then find your city and browse away. You can find incredible buys on furniture, housewares, farm and garden supplies and much, much more. My best find? A genuine Gucci stainless steel watch (it works) for $40. Beat that!
Here's the thing with Craig's List. As with all online services, carefully guard your personal safety and try and avoid sticky situations. If you're a seller, describe the item as accurately as possible and provide pictures. Request cash and carry only-no holding of items for someone. If you're a buyer: Again, guard your personal safety, and if the item is valuable, have the seller prove it works (if applicable) before buying it. Generally, after you've bought it, it's yours to keep-these are private sellers, not a retailer with a return policy.
3. Marshalls and TJMaxx. Not the top picks for customer service, however, the bargains on new name-brand (or just good looking) items can't be beat. Be advised, however, that their inventory changes OFTEN so stop by frequently and buy it when you see it-it won't be there when you come back.
4. Thrift stores. I can't say enough about thrift stores! There are so many treasures to be found there-especially if you're a do-it-yourselfer.
5. Big Lots. Oh, how I love my Big Lots. They really are a closeout store just like they advertise. I bought a Bissell SpotBot Hands-Free Portable Deep Cleaner at Big Lots around Christmas time. These retail for $117 at Wal-Mart which is a great price. Big Lots had them for $75 (refurbished model) and it was on sale for $60! Wow. I'm also signed up at their website and today I received a coupon for 20% my next order...that's a deal.
6. Consignment stores. Usually when you think of consignment stores, you think clothes, but there are consignment home stores as well. These are similar to thrift stores but usually have things that are just a little bit nicer. Go in with money, however, because if you want something, you can't count on it to be there the next day.
7. Sam's Club. (or any other discount club). **One note: I'm not sure I believe in paying a membership fee to save money unless you will use it a WHOLE lot. I am blessed to have an employer who gave me my membership free. I use it for gasoline and large quantities of things that won't go bad, i.e., toilet paper, paper towels, personal hygiene products, etc. BE CAREFUL, though, and don't buy a 5-lb can of tuna fish if you won't eat it all! Also, don't buy said can of tuna then force yourself to eat it so that you "didn't waste your money". Again, only buy things you already use and will use large quantities of. One other tip: Take a friend with you, and buy some things together and split them!
8. Trader Joe's. (for groceries). I don't know WHY Trader Joe's is so awesome, it just is. I find pre-made dinners that are delicious, healthy and very inexpensive! They have the BEST pumpkin butter I've EVER tasted (I almost didn't want to tell you that. Don't go and take all of my pumpkin butter!). The store's always crowded, but the staff is very friendly. Our closest one is about 1 1/2 hours away so a friend and I carpool and go about once a month or so. It's worth it! Food aside, I've seen them sell organic hair products and less than 1/2 the price of our local organic store, so I can only imagine how much less the other products would be if I compared them!
9. Walmart. Not my favorite store in the whole world, but sometimes, you just can't beat their prices.
10. Amazon.com. Amazon retails their books and media for less than your local bookstore, and provides free shipping for qualifying orders over $25. Not only that, but when you click on a book/DVD, etc. that you want, check below it for a link that says "New and Used... $xxx". Often, you can buy the item used for less. Just keep in mind that the used item costs about $3 and up to ship, so you only save if the price of the used item is significantly less that the price of the new one. I just bought the Discovery Channel Planet Earth complete DVD series for $25-it normally retails for $55 on Amazon.com.
What I love about Amazon.com is that they sell just about EVERYTHING, not just books and media. Tools, clothes, appliances, housewares, you name it. When you're looking for a bargain on something, always check the price on Amazon.
11. eBay. eBay (an online auction site if you're the only person who doesn't know
) is a great place to find bargains and also to find obscure things
when you just don't know where else to look. Be careful, however, that
you don't get caught up in a bidding war and forget to add the cost of
shipping to the total price of the item in your head- Yes, a $20 pair
of Crocs on Ebay is less than a $30 pair of Crocs at the
store. But not if the online seller charges $13 for shipping...in that
case, you would've paid $33 on Ebay for an item you could've bought for
$30 locally.
Do you have any favorite bargain stores/ideas? If so, please add them to the comments section below.
Photo by katie jean
1. Ikea. Ikea has amazing furniture and accessories, but moderation is key. Because their prices are very affordable, it's easy to whip out your credit card and charge a whole room. Now that $50 chair isn't so much of a bargain because you surrounded it with $950 worth of other furniture from Ikea as well! I live 2 hours away from the closest Ikea so my friend Lisa and I make a day of it. Good times.
2. Craig's List. Most people fall into one of two categories. Those who know about Craig's List, and those who don't. If you're reading this, you're probably the former! In case you're the latter, Craig's List is a free online service that allows you to buy and sell things locally. Think eBay meets Trading Post. Just go to the main site, click on your state, then find your city and browse away. You can find incredible buys on furniture, housewares, farm and garden supplies and much, much more. My best find? A genuine Gucci stainless steel watch (it works) for $40. Beat that!
Here's the thing with Craig's List. As with all online services, carefully guard your personal safety and try and avoid sticky situations. If you're a seller, describe the item as accurately as possible and provide pictures. Request cash and carry only-no holding of items for someone. If you're a buyer: Again, guard your personal safety, and if the item is valuable, have the seller prove it works (if applicable) before buying it. Generally, after you've bought it, it's yours to keep-these are private sellers, not a retailer with a return policy.
3. Marshalls and TJMaxx. Not the top picks for customer service, however, the bargains on new name-brand (or just good looking) items can't be beat. Be advised, however, that their inventory changes OFTEN so stop by frequently and buy it when you see it-it won't be there when you come back.
4. Thrift stores. I can't say enough about thrift stores! There are so many treasures to be found there-especially if you're a do-it-yourselfer.
5. Big Lots. Oh, how I love my Big Lots. They really are a closeout store just like they advertise. I bought a Bissell SpotBot Hands-Free Portable Deep Cleaner at Big Lots around Christmas time. These retail for $117 at Wal-Mart which is a great price. Big Lots had them for $75 (refurbished model) and it was on sale for $60! Wow. I'm also signed up at their website and today I received a coupon for 20% my next order...that's a deal.
6. Consignment stores. Usually when you think of consignment stores, you think clothes, but there are consignment home stores as well. These are similar to thrift stores but usually have things that are just a little bit nicer. Go in with money, however, because if you want something, you can't count on it to be there the next day.
7. Sam's Club. (or any other discount club). **One note: I'm not sure I believe in paying a membership fee to save money unless you will use it a WHOLE lot. I am blessed to have an employer who gave me my membership free. I use it for gasoline and large quantities of things that won't go bad, i.e., toilet paper, paper towels, personal hygiene products, etc. BE CAREFUL, though, and don't buy a 5-lb can of tuna fish if you won't eat it all! Also, don't buy said can of tuna then force yourself to eat it so that you "didn't waste your money". Again, only buy things you already use and will use large quantities of. One other tip: Take a friend with you, and buy some things together and split them!
8. Trader Joe's. (for groceries). I don't know WHY Trader Joe's is so awesome, it just is. I find pre-made dinners that are delicious, healthy and very inexpensive! They have the BEST pumpkin butter I've EVER tasted (I almost didn't want to tell you that. Don't go and take all of my pumpkin butter!). The store's always crowded, but the staff is very friendly. Our closest one is about 1 1/2 hours away so a friend and I carpool and go about once a month or so. It's worth it! Food aside, I've seen them sell organic hair products and less than 1/2 the price of our local organic store, so I can only imagine how much less the other products would be if I compared them!
9. Walmart. Not my favorite store in the whole world, but sometimes, you just can't beat their prices.
10. Amazon.com. Amazon retails their books and media for less than your local bookstore, and provides free shipping for qualifying orders over $25. Not only that, but when you click on a book/DVD, etc. that you want, check below it for a link that says "New and Used... $xxx". Often, you can buy the item used for less. Just keep in mind that the used item costs about $3 and up to ship, so you only save if the price of the used item is significantly less that the price of the new one. I just bought the Discovery Channel Planet Earth complete DVD series for $25-it normally retails for $55 on Amazon.com.
What I love about Amazon.com is that they sell just about EVERYTHING, not just books and media. Tools, clothes, appliances, housewares, you name it. When you're looking for a bargain on something, always check the price on Amazon.
11. eBay. eBay (an online auction site if you're the only person who doesn't know
) is a great place to find bargains and also to find obscure things
when you just don't know where else to look. Be careful, however, that
you don't get caught up in a bidding war and forget to add the cost of
shipping to the total price of the item in your head- Yes, a $20 pair
of Crocs on Ebay is less than a $30 pair of Crocs at the
store. But not if the online seller charges $13 for shipping...in that
case, you would've paid $33 on Ebay for an item you could've bought for
$30 locally. Do you have any favorite bargain stores/ideas? If so, please add them to the comments section below.
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