In this struggling economy, being a thrift shopper is now more vital than ever before. Saving even one penny has now gained a certain beauty. If you’re an experienced shopper, you know that paying close attention to the price tags, looking for those coupons in the newspaper, on the end of your receipt, or online, and at times traveling a little further is often necessary to saving money. Should you buy the milk at the corner store for 3.50 or at the market 8 blocks away for 2.95?  Should you spend 3.00 on rice, or buy a paper for 50 cents and save 1.00 on the rice with a coupon? These questions seem menial, but by the end of the year when you save thousands in groceries, your hard work is suddenly worth it.

The Fine Print

If you don’t do much shopping, you’ll see the price tag and see the words “savings x.xx” you’ll likely think to yourself ‘All right!’, but wait! Take a closer look and you’ll find in small letters the price, usually in cents and tenths of cents, of the product per ounces. This is actually a very handy tool for the thrifty shopper.

An example?

You have 5 different packages of a candy bar up for sale, all the same candy bar. One in a single package, one in a bag of mini’s, the rest in different sized bags containing whole bars. None of them are on sale, and they all have seemingly correct price tags. But look at the price per ounce, and this has happened to me, and compare.

33 cents per ounce, 31 cents per ounce, 28 cents, 23 cents.

It doesn’t seem like a major difference, but if you’re buying them 104 times a year, (twice a week) for $2.31, (33 cents an ounce) you’re paying $240.24 a year. But if you’re paying for the same amount for only $1.61, (23 cents an ounce) you’re paying $167.44 a year. You would save $72.08! You grocery store is full of little loopholes like that just waiting to be exploited.

Resolution

Pay more than the usual attention to the little price tags underneath your favorite products and take time to research your marketing choices. Save your money today and you might be able to buy that new car next year!

Is that really possible?

You bet! There are now several sites that not only offer cash back, but offer exclusive coupons and coupon codes. Some sites offer cash back that will go into an account for future use, such as upromise.com. They offer cash back on a percentage of everything that you purchase by clicking onto a store through their site for college funds. Not only do you get the cash back in a savings account, but they offer different ways you can invest that money so that it grows over time too.

How much are we talking?

Sites such as fatwallet.com,  and bing.com offer a percentage of your purchase, up to 25%, as a cash back rebate. For instance, if you are thinking of purchasing a new laptop, you can go to one of the mentioned websites and type in the model you are looking for. The site will return several stores that sell that model and give you the amount of savings each store offers. You can compare pricing, add the difference in cash back, and check if any of them offer a special coupon. So, if you buy a $1000 laptop, and receive 1% back, and a special $10.00 coupon, you just saved $20.00! You earn your cash back check quarterly, so just a few purchases add up!

Don’t forget the coupons!

A lot of people may not consider the ˜cash back’ a coupon can save you. Although it’s not being sent to you in a check, or to use towards future purchases, you’re not actually spending the money. Before I purchase anything online I’m sure to check out sites like fantasia.net, tjoos.com, ebates.com, and upromise.com as they often will offer coupons that even the store’s newsletters wouldn’t offer. You can often find free shipping offers, percent or dollar off coupons, or even free gift with purchase codes.

Everyone loves to shop, and the next time you go out shopping, you may want to take a little time, before you go out, to find out how you can save the big bucks.

Shop at the Outlets

Most of the large retail stores have outlet stores where they sell overstock items and discontinued items. Looking at the outlet mall might get you the name brand you are looking for, but at a better cost to you. Some outlet centers have websites for you to look at their stock online, but if you know what you are looking for, then you can always call to see if they have it available. All types of retailers have outlet stores, ranging from clothing to furniture.

Shop at Consignment Stores

Consignment stores offer a way for everyday consumers to buy and/or sell high end clothes. This is a great opportunity to get big name brand items “normally clothes or accessories “ at a cost much lower than the original store price. The catch is, the items are used, however, they are in great condition, or the consignment store wouldn’t agree to sell them. Consignment stores are also a great way to sell your gently used clothes that are too high end to sell at a garage sell.

Shop Online

There are great deals online if you can find them. Search for your desired product and you’ll find dozens of places that are selling it; just find the cheapest price. Do not be discouraged by shipping charges. More often than not, stores offer discounts on shipping if you spend a certain amount of money.  Plus, normally you can find the item so cheap that with the shipping cost added in, it’s still cheaper than going to your local store and buying it.

Get Online Coupons

The Internet is also a great place to find coupons. Manufacturers often put coupons on their websites for consumers to print off and take to their local store. These coupons can ranges from getting something for free to half off the original cost. By searching online, you can also find coupons for discounts online (even free shipping!).

The next time you go shopping online, you may want to head on over to a cash back site, where you can get a cash back percentage back on your purchases.  Where can you head to, you might ask?  Here are some sites that you can use.

Bing.com Cash Back Rewards

Bing.com, Microsoft’s search engine and Google competitor, came out with a program last year that helped many people save money on purchases made in participating stores. Their cash back system allowed buyers to buy items, and then in sixty days get a percentage back into their bank or Pay Pal account. This percentage went as high as thirty five percent! There were limits on usage, but you could just open up a new account and reap more benefits. This cash back is great since it works with eBay. Currently, the discount is eight percent off. You just search for what you want using the Bing.com search engine, and then click on a sponsored link above which takes you to eBay. It gives you eight percent back, and if you go into your account settings, you can get instant cash back deposited right into your Pay Pal account, minutes after you paid in full.

BigCrumbs

BigCrumbs.com is a website that also offers cash back on purchases. There are crumb earners and crumb savers. Crumb earners get thirty six percent of the total fees that the seller on eBay paid. For example, a one hundred dollar item usually costs about ten dollars to sell. You would get 3.60 into your BigCrumbs account. If you are a crumb saver, you get twenty percent back, but you also can get referrals and enjoy four percent of their fees purchases. You get paid via PayPal every month, and they send it automatically and without any fees. BigCrumbs has been in business for years now and is one hundred percent eBay compatible.

Ebates

Ebates is a site similar to BigCrumbs which gives you cash back on purchases. Ebates gives you a small percentage of the ending price (usually one percent) of your purchase. This is compatible with eBay as well. I prefer BigCrumbs over Ebates, but some people rather get the one percent instead of the fees, which depends on the items they buy.

In recent months I have used many coupons.  What I have tried to do is do all my shopping where I can use the most coupons.  Usually I use coupons once a month at Target to get everything except meats, fruits and vegetables.  They have the best price and at times there has been items that were reduced more and the coupons reduced even more.

If you find that you use a product and never see coupons for it, call the company customer service department and tell them you use the product and want to know if they can mail you some of their coupons.  I have done this many times and the coupons are a higher amount they you would see in the magazines.

My rule of thumb is, only buy what you use.  Don’t buy off the wall items that look good, great price but will never use. There are grocery stores that give double the amount of the coupon up to $.99.   This is a good way to stock up for the winter on laundry soap, toilet tissue, paper towels etc.  Usually one month I would buy enough toilet tissue for 3 months, or laundry soap if it’s on sale.  Once you start this system, you will find it easy to use and you will never run out of items.

One of the things you will learn about coupons, is that $.05 to .25 isn’t that much for a coupon, unless the item cost $1.00 or under, or you can double them.

I am for the $.50 and up coupons.  I find they give you a better savings on the item.

Recently I keep the receipt and where it shows how much you have saved, I put this money in a jar.  This year it will go to Christmas presents.